MOUNTAIN 
WILD 

.•;••;.  5 

^AMERICA 

JULIAW-HENSHAW 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


H 


to  Act  of  Con£ress> in  the  year  S9°6>  b 

W.  HENSHAW 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  the  Parliament  of  Canada,  in  the  year  1906,  by 

JULIA  W.  HENSHAW 
at  the  Department  of  Agriculture 


ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL 


ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 

66.6 


athenaeum 


GINN   &   COMPANY  •   PRO- 
PRIETORS  •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


TO 

SIR  THOMAS  GEORGE  SHAUGHNESSY 

THIS  GUIDE  TO  THE  ALPINE  FLOWER-FIELDS 

OF  THE  WEST  IS  INSCRIBED  BY 

THE   AUTHOR 


205080 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 


PREFACE 

"  When  the  book  of  life  falls  open  at  the  page  of  .spring," 
who  does  not  long  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  Nature  and  wan- 
der therein,  with  bright-hued  flowers  abloom  about  his  feet 
and  the  silent,  scintillating  peaks  standing  circlewise  above 
his  head? 

High  up  where  the  snow-crowned  mountain  monarchs  rule 
over  an  enchanting  land  of  foliage,  ferns,  and  fungi,  outspanned 
in  sunshine  beneath  the  broad  blue  tent  of  the  western  sky, 
the  alpine  meadows  are  ablaze  with  starry  blossoms.  Held 
close  in  the  curved  arms  of  the  cliffs,  these  patches  of  verdure 
and  wondrous-tinted  flowers  are  a  revelation  to  the  traveller. 
From  the  mountains  of  the  Yukon  and  Alaska  to  the  hills  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  England,  in  the  Rockies,  the  Selkirks, 
and  the  vast  mountain  ranges  of  Montana,  Dakota,  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  California,  and  other  western  states,  one  will 
find  that  the  same  miracle  has  been  wrought.  On  the  lower 
levels,  white-flowered,  scarlet-fruited  shrubs  stretch  out  long 
branches,  weighted  with  clustered  loveliness,  across  the  tiny 
ribbon-like  trails  that  man  has  cut  deep  into  the  heart  of  the 
primeval  forest.  Over  the  valleys  the  water  ways  have  spread 
an  emerald  tide  of  verdure,  set  with  islands  of  flaming  Painted- 
cups,  blue  Gentians,  and  purple  Vetches  ;  while  higher  up  the 
slopes  of  the  mountains  are  carpeted  with  myriads  of  yellow 
Lilies,  Gaillardias,  and  Arnicas,  —  a  glorious  Field  of  the 
Cloth  of  Gold. 

As  the  traveller  climbs  upward  the  scene  changes ;  every- 
where there  are  barren  rocks  and  towering  cliffs,  huge  escarp- 
ments and  frowning  precipices,  for  here  Nature  stands  revealed 
in  one  of  her  most  majestic  moods,  and  all  the  lines  of  the 


viii  PREFACE 

landscape  are  sketched  out  rugged  and  severe.  Then  comes 
the  sudden  turn  round  the  corner  of  some  cliff,  the  o'ertop- 
ping  of  some  steep  stone  ledge,  and  behold  !  before  one  lies  a 
garden  such  as  kings  might  envy.  But  how  describe  the  ecstasy 
of  standing  knee-deep  in  the  fragrance  of  a  thousand  flowers  ? 
After  the  crossing  of  the  bare,  bleak  rocks  it  is  like  a  triumphal 
entry  into  Paradise.  Here  are  pink  Garlics,  Harebells  sway- 
ing in  wild  waywardness,  Veronicas  looking  up  with  their  wide- 
open  blue  eyes,  Heathers  red,  rose,  and  white,  amethyst  Asters, 
and  sweet-scented  Orchids,  all  mingling  their  perfume  with  the 
shining  green  leaves  and  waxen  petals  of  the  Rhododendrons 
and  the  great  snowy  chalices  of  the  Globe  Flowers. 

Who  can  adequately  describe  the  luxuriant  profusion  of  these 
alpine  meadows  ?  Who  can  tell  in  mere  words  the  glory  and 
the  glamour  of  such  a  scene  ?  All  around  one  the  dazzling  peaks 
in  their  frozen  and  pitiless  beauty  point  long  slender  fingers 
up  to  God ;  cruel  crevasses  split  the  gigantic  rocks  from  tree- 
less top  to  pine -clad  base,  where  glaciers  cling  to  the  cliffs  with 
sparkling  tentacles,  and  lichened  stone-slopes  are  graciously 
clothed  by  the  creeping  Juniper,  and  the  pale  green  mantle 
of  Lyall's  Larches. 

Far  below  lies  the  universe  in  miniature,  lakes,  rivers,  and 
forests,  a  few  scattered  dwellings  nestling  in  the  umbrage  of 
the  conifers,  —  "a  wondrous  woof  of  various  greens  "  cover- 
ing the  mountain  sides,  sharp  scythe-cut  by  many  a  winding 
pathway  or  brawling  torrent  along  whose  margent  the  willow 
wands  sway  lightly  in  the  wind. 

In  the  foreground  is  set  the  splendid  sod  where  prodigal 
Nature  has  planted  countless  flowers, — acre  on  acre  of  yellow 
and  scarlet  and  blue  giant  Lady's  Slippers,  delicate  Helio- 
tropes, Geraniums,  Forget-me-nots,  and  Columbines.  Such  is 
a  picture  of  the  Land  of  Immortal  Loveliness,  where,  far 
above  the  clouds,  man  meets  Nature  face  to  face  and  finds 
that  it  is  good. 


PREFACE  ix 

It  matters  not  at  what  hour  one  goes  to  the  mountains, 
whether  in  the  amethyst  dawn,  when  the  golden  gates  of  sun- 
rise fall  ajar  and  the  first  faint  rustle  of  the  leaves  stirs  the 
dreaming  world  to  consciousness,  dispersing  mists  and  dew; 
in  the  brilliant  noontide,  when  life  marches  on  with  all  her 
banners  unfurled,  and  every  plant  is  budding  and  blowing  as 
the  sap  runs  freely  and  the  sun's  effulgent  rays  turn  every- 
thing to  glory  ;  or  in  the  amber  evening,  when  purple  shadows 
steal  with  phantom  feet  from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  down  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest  the  gentle  dusk  drops  tears  that  spangle 
leaf  and  bloom,  as  God  lights  the  star-lamps  of  His  high 
heaven  and  puts  out  the  day. 

Even  when  we  listen  to  the  rhythm  of  the  rain  all  is  beau- 
tiful, for  the  flowers  that  greeted  the  dawn  with  opal  hearts 
wide-blown,  that  at  noontide  were  found  with 

"  Each  affluent  petal  outstretched  and  uncurled 
To  the  glory  and  gladness  and  shine  of  the  world,  " 

and  that  at  evening  offered  up  sweetest  fragrance  in  their 
chalice-cups,  are  given  a  new  joy  and  beauty  by  the  cool  clear 
showers  from  above. 

"  The  paths,  the  woods,  the  heavens,  the  hills, 

Are  not  a  world  today, 
But  just  a  place  God  made  for  us 
In  which  to  play." 

So  we  wander  in  search  of  the  mountain  wild  flowers, 
following  the  trails  that  lead  to  the  alpine  meadows,  listening 
to  the  bird -songs  as  we  pass,  wrapt  in  the  peace  of  the  perfect 
hills,  while  all  about  us  the  infinite  beauty  of  things  created, 
the  magic  of  the  summer  skies,  the  strength  of  the  far-flung 
bastions,  the  purity  of  the  eternal  snows,  and  the  glory  of  the 
flowers  that  bloom  above  the  clouds  bid  us  remember  that 
we  are  walking 

"  In  the  Freedom  of  the  Garden  Wild  " 
with 

"  God  of  the  open  Air." 


PREFACE 


As  this  book  is  intended  more  for  the  use  of  the  general 
public  than  for  botanists,  the  flowers  herein  described  are  clas- 
sified according  to  colour,  and  without  special  reference  to 
their  scientific  relationship  ;  for  the  first  attribute  of  a  plant 
that  attracts  the  traveller's  eye  is  invariably  its  colour,  his 
first  question  usually  being,  What  is  that  red  flower?  (or  blue 
flower,  or  yellow  flower,  as  the  case  may  be).  Of  order, 
genus,  and  species  he  probably  knows  nothing,  and  therefore 
the  descriptions  given  in  this  guide  to  the  mountain  wild 
flowers  are  so  simply  and  clearly  worded  that  any  plants 
indexed  may  be  readily  located  in  one  of  the  colour  sections, 
together  with  its  name  and  chief  characteristics. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  botanical  terms  which  it  is  well 
the  reader  should  understand  ;  these  are  given  in  the  "  Ex- 
planation of  Botanical  Terms  "  on  page  xix. 

The  nomenclature  followed  throughout  this  work  is  strictly 
in  accordance  with  that  endorsed  by  Professor  John  Macoun, 
botanist  to  the  Federal  Government  of  Canada. 

Plants  will  be  found  to  vary  greatly  in  size  and  appearance 
at  various  altitudes,  becoming  smaller  and  shorter  as  the  sum- 
mits of  the  mountains  are  approached,  until  at  7000  or  8000 
feet  one  will  find  the  tiny  leaves  of  the  Moss  Campion  and 
Mountain  Saxifrage  growing  flat  upon  the  ground,  their  starry 
blossoms  having  no  perceptible  stalks,  but  being  set  close 
down  into  the  moss-like  plants.  The  Aplopappi,  Speedwells, 
Chickweeds,  Whitlow-grass,  Eriogonums,  Androsaces,  Saxi- 
frages, and  Stonecrops  are  all  in  evidence  at  very  high  eleva- 
tions, growing  in  dwarfed  alpine  forms,  and,  together  with 
the  Heaths,  Heathers,,  and  Anemones,  are  among  the  last 
flowers  found  at  the  edge  of  perpetual  snow. 

During  the  course  of  a  short  walk  in  any  direction  among 
the  mountains,  one  may  gather  many  exquisite  flowers,  for  he 
is  not  obliged  to  wander  far  afield  in  order  to  find  blossoms 
of  every  hue  ;  while  even  to  reach  tree-line,  with  its  rarer 


PREFACE  xi 

species  of  plants,  is  not  beyond  the  power  of  the  ordinary 
traveller  who  starts  out  from  a  chalet  hotel  at  an  average 
altitude  of  4500  feet,  and  therefore  has  only  to  climb  another 
couple  of  thousand  feet  to  arrive  at  the  highest  alpine  meadows. 

For  their  valuable  assistance  in  the  work  of  preparing  this 
volume  upon  the  mountain  wild  flowers  my  sincere  and  grate- 
ful thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  David  McNicoll,  Mr.  Robert  Kerr, 
and  Mr.  Richard  Marpole. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  also  to  Professor  John  Macoun, 
Mr.  James  Macoun,  and  Dr.  James  Fletcher,  of  Ottawa,  for 
valuable  scientific  advice  and  for  their  interest  in  my  work. 

VANCOUVER  >21^c<x    SV*. 

April,  1906  ' 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

LIST  OF  PLATES .     .     .     xv 

EXPLANATION  OF  BOTANICAL  TERMS xix 

SECTION 

I.  WHITE  TO  GREEN  FLOWERS i 

II.  PINK  TO  RED  FLOWERS 133 

III.  BLUE  TO  PURPLE  FLOWERS 183 

IV.  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE  FLOWERS 257 

V.  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 321 

VI.  MISCELLANEOUS 365 

INDEX  TO  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES 377 

INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES 381 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


Yellow  Adder's  Tongue Erythronium  gigantenm     Frontispiece 


PLATE 

I.    Western  Anemone    .... 
II.    Wind-flower 

III.  Alpine  Anemone 

IV.  Globe  Flower    ...... 

V.    Drummond's  Rock-cress  .     . 

VI.    Canada  Violet 

VII.    Field  Chickweed 

VIII.    Spring  Beauty 

IX.    Birch-leaved  Spiraea      .     .     . 

X.    White  Dryas 

XI.    Common  Saxifrage  .... 
XII.    Tall  Saxifrage 

XIII.  Alpine  Saxifrage 

XIV.  Leptarrhena 

XV.    Tellima 

XVI     /  Marsn  Grass  of  Parnassus  . 

^Fringed  Grass  of  Parnassus 

XVII.    Wild  Parsley     ...... 

XVIII.    Bunch-berry 

XIX.    Northern  Bedstraw  .... 
XX.    White  Heliotrope     .... 

'  XXI.    White  Aster 

XXII.    Pearly  Everlasting     .... 

XXIII.  Yarrow 

XXIV.  Ox-eye  Daisy    ...... 

XXV.    White  Heath 

XXVI.    White  False  Heather   ... 

XXVII      ("Green-flowered  Wintergreen 

I^Red  Wintergreen   .... 

XXVIII.    One-sided  Wintergreen     .     . 

XXIX.    One-flowered  Wintergreen    . 

XXX.    Romanzoffia 

XXXI.    Contorted  Lousewort    .    .    . 

XXXII      f  Alpme  Bistort 

^Asphodel 

XXXIII.    Ladies'  Tresses 


PAGE 

Anemone  occidentalis c 

Anemone  multifida 7 

Anemone  Drummondii  ....  u 

Trollius  laxtis 13 

Arabis  Drummondii 17 

Viola  Canadensis 19 

Cerastium  arvense       .....  23 

Claytonia  sessilifolia 25 

Spirts  a  hid  da 29 

Dryas  octopetala 33 

Saxifraga  bronchialis      ....  35 

Saxifraga  ATutkana 39 

Saxifraga  nivalis 41 

Leptarrhena  pyrolifolia  ....  45 

Tellima  grandiflora 47 

Parnassia  montanensis"\ 
Parnassia  Jimbriata      j 

LigusticTim  apii folium     ....  53 

Cor  mis  Canadensis 57 

Galium  boreale 59 

Valeriana  sitchensis 63 

Aster  commutatus 65 

Anaphalis  margaritacea      ...  69 

Ac  hi  lie  a  lanulosa 71 

Chrysanthemum  Lencanthemum  75 

Cassiope  Mertensiana      ....  77 

BrycintJius  glandnliflorus    ...  8 1 

Pyrola  chlorantha^\  o 
Pyrola  asarifolia   j 

Pyrola  secunda 87 

Moneses  uniflora 91 

Romanzoffia  sitchensis     ....  93 

Pedicularis  contorta 97 

Polygonum  viviparum~\ 
Tofieldia  glntinosa         j 

Spiranthes  Romanzojfiana  .     .    .  105 


XVI 

LIST  OF   PLA 

TES 

PLATE 

f  Leaf  y  Orchis 

PAGE 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 
XXXVI. 
XXXVII. 

^Small  Orchis  
White  Bog  Orchis  .  .  .  . 
White  Twisted-stalk  .  .  . 
Spikenard  

Habenaria  obtusata      ) 
Habenaria  dilatata  
Streptopus  amplexifolius  .     .     . 
Smilacina  stellata 

109 

1  1  1 
"3 

117 

XXXVIII. 
XXXIX. 

Queen-cup  
False  Hellebore  

Clintonia  uniflora  
Veratrum  viride  <"$  * 

121 
\fi 

XL. 
XLI. 
XLII. 
XLIII. 
XLIV. 
XLV. 

Stenanthium  
Tall  Zygadene  
Western  Columbine  .  .  . 
Long-plumed  Avens  .  .  . 
Water  Willow-herb  .  .  . 
Northern  Twin-flower  .  . 

Stenanthium  occidental  .  .  . 
Zygadenus  elegans  
Aquilegia  formosa  
Geum  triflorum  
Epilobium  latifolium  .... 
Linn&a  borealis 

l~J 

127 
I29 

I4I 

'45 

I  «Q 

XLVI. 
XLVII. 
XLVIII. 
XLIX 

Rough  Fleabane  .... 
Pink  Everlasting  .... 
Red  False  Heather  .  .  . 
Red  Money-flower 

Erigeron  g  la  belli  is  .  .  ...  . 
A  ntennariaparvi  folia  var.  rosea 
Bryanthus  empetriformis 

'53 
«:S7 

161 
167 

L. 

Wood  Betony  

Pedicularis  bracteosa  . 

1U/ 

171 

LI. 

Fly-spotted  Orchis 

Orchis  rotujidifolia 

LI  I 

Pink  Garlic 

LIII 

Wild  Clematis 

1  /V 
187 

LIV 

Pasque  Flower 

1  80 

LV. 
LVI. 

Mountain  Larkspur  .  .  . 
Moss  Campion  

J)elphinium  Broivnii  .... 
Silene  acaulis  .... 

loy 

LVII. 

Wild  Flax  

Linum  Letvisii 

IQQ 

.LVIII. 
LIX. 

Ascending  Vetch  .... 
Alpine  Vetch  

Astragalus  adsrirgens  .... 
Astragalus  alpinus  

2O  I 
"'O  C 

LX. 
LXI 

f  Purple.  Hedysarum  .  .  . 
\White  Hedysarum  .  .  . 

Cow  Vetch 

f  Hedysarum  boreale  "\ 
•{  Hedysarum  boreale  ^      .     .     . 
L.     var.  albiflorum     J 

209 

LXII. 

Large  Purple  Aster  .  .  . 

Aster  conspicuus  .... 

-7  |  C 

LXIII. 
LXIV. 
LXV 

Large  Purple  Fleabane  .  . 
Brook  Lobelia  
Harebell 

Erigeron  salsuginosus  .  .  ... 
Lobelia  Kalmii  .  .  .  .  . 

-1  J 
2I7 

221 

LXVI. 
LXVII. 
LXVIII. 

Macoun's  Gentian  .... 
Northern  Gentian  .... 
Mountain  Phacelia  .... 

Gentiana  Macounii  .  .  .  .  . 
Gentiana  acuta  
Phacelia  sericea  

**3 

227 
231 

2^C 

LXIX. 
LXX. 
LXXI. 
LXXII. 
LXXIII. 
LXXIV. 

False  Forget-me-not    .     .     . 
Large  Purple  Beard-tongue 
Alpine  Speedwell     .... 
Blue-eyed  Grass      -.   .»  ...  .-.' 
Purple  Garlic  ....... 
Yellow  Columbine 

Echinospermum  floribiindum   . 
Penstemon  Menziesii    .... 
Veronica  alpina    
Sisyrinchium  angustifolium 
Allium  Schanoprasum      .     .     . 
Aquile°'ia  flavescens      .... 

237 
24I 

245 
249 
253 
26l 

LXXV. 

Bladder-pod  .  .  . 

Physaria  didymocarpa 

^60 

LXXVI. 
LXXVII. 

Drummond's  Dryas     .     . 
Yellow  Willow-herb    .     .     . 

Dryas  Driimmondii  .... 
Epilobium  luteum  ..... 

273 

277 

LXXVIII. 

Field  Golden-rod  .... 

Soli  da  go  de  cum  bens  

283 

LIST  OF  PLATES 


xvii 


PLATE 

LXXIX.  Giant  Sunflower 

LXXX.  Great-flowered  Gaillardia      .     . 

LXXXI.  Heart-leaf  Arnica 

LXXXII.  Alpine  Arnica 

LXXXIII.  Golden  Ragwort 

LXXXIV.  Hairy  Hawkweed 

LXXXV.  Small  Hawkweed 

LXXXVI.  Large  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper      . 

LXXXVII.  Red  Baneberry 

LXXXVIII.  Goat's  Beard 

LXXXIX.  Salmon-berry 

XC.  Prickly  Rose 

XCI.  Western  Mountain  Ash     .     .     . 

XCII.  Service-berry 

XCIII.  Red-stemmed  Dogwood     .     .     . 

XCIV.  Red-berried  Elder 

XCV.  Arrow-wood        

XCVI.  Woolly  Labrador  Tea   .... 

XCVII.  White  Mountain  Rhododendron 

XCVIII.  Smooth  Menziesia 

XCIX.  Cotton  Grass 


PAGE 

Helianthus  giganteus  .     .  287 

Gaillardia  aristata  .     .     .  291 

Arnica  cordifolia     .     .     .  295 

Arnica  alpina      ....  299 

Senecio  Balsamitce  .     .     .  303 

Hieracium  Scotileri     .     .  307 

Hieracium  gracile    .    .    .  311 

Cypripedium  pubescens    .  315 

Actcea  spicata  var.  arguta  325 

Spir&a  Aruncus      .     .     .  327 

Rubus  Nutkanus     .     .     .  331 

Rosa  acicularis    .     .     .     .  333 

Pyriis  sambucifolia .     .     .  339 

Amelanchier  aim 'folia      .  341 

Cornus  stolonifera  ,     .     .  345 

Sambucus  racemosa      .     .  347 

Viburnum  panciflortim    .  351 

Ledum  latifolium     .     .     .  353 

Rhododendron  albiflorum  357 

Menziesia  glabella    .     .     .  361 

Eriophorum  capitatum     .  371 


EXPLANATION  OF  BOTANICAL  TERMS 


The  object  of  these  pages  is  to  give  as  briefly  as  possible  a  simple 
explanation  of  those  botanical  terms  most  frequently  used  in  describing 
plants. 

THE  ROOT 

Rootstock :  a  creeping  stem,  growing  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Tuber:   a   thick  portion   of    a    rootstock,    usually   possessing   eyes  like 

a  potato. 

Corm  :  the  thick  fleshy  base  of  a  stem. 
Bulb:  an  underground  stem  covered  with  scales. 
Stolon:  a  basal  branch,  rooting  at  the  nodes. 

THE   FRUIT 

Achene  :  a  dry  one-seeded  fruit. 

Berry  :  a  pulpy  fruit. 

Capsule:  a  dry  fruit  with  two  or  more  carpels. 

Drupe :  a  single  fruit,  with  a  fleshy  outer  wall  and  a  bony  inner  wall. 

Plumose:  resembling  a  plume,  like  the  Clematis  in  seed. 

Sterile :  without  seed. 

THE  STEM 
Erect:  upright. 
Simple:  not  branched. 

Decumbent :  horizontal  on  the  ground,  but  vertical  at  the  end. 
Procumbent :  flat  on  the  ground. 

Creeping :  running  along  the  earth  and  rooting  at  the  joints. 
Scape:  the  leafless  flower-stalk  of  a  stemless  plant. 
Node:  the  junction  of  two  portions  of  the  stem,  often  hard  and  swollen, 
at  which  leaves  are  usually  borne. 

THE  LEAF 

Bract :  a  leaf  subtending  a  flower. 

Involucre:  a  circle  of  bracts  round  a  flower,  as  in  the  Sunflower. 

Entire :  one  the  edge  of  which  is  not  cut  or  lobed. 


XX  EXPLANATION  OF  BOTANICAL  TERMS 

Simple:  one  which  is  not  divided  into  leaflets. 
Compound:  one  which  is  divided  into  leaflets. 
Alternate:  when  one  leaf  grows  just  above  the  other  on  another  side 

of  the  stem. 
Opposite:  when  two  appear  at  each  joint,  having  the  semicircle  of  the 

stem  between  them. 

Whorled:  when  they  grow  in  a  circle  round  the  stem. 
Cordate:  heart-shaped. 
Obcordate:  inversely  heart-shaped. 
Linear :  very  narrow,  like  grass. 
Lanceolate:  narrow,  tapering  towards  the  top. 
Oblanceolate :  inversely  lanceolate. 
Ovate:  egg-shaped,  broader  at  the  bottom. 
Obovate:  egg-shaped,  broader  at  the  top. 
Elliptical:  oblong,  narrowed  at  the  top  and  bottom. 
Oval :  broadly  elliptical. 

Spatulate :  rounded  at  the  top  and  narrow  at  the  base. 
Orbicular:  round. 

Reniform  :  nearly  round,  with  a  deep  indentation  at  the  stalk. 
Auriculate:  having  two  rounded  lobes  at  the  base. 
Sagittate:  having  two  pointed  lobes  at  the  base. 
Undulate :  with  wavy  margins. 
Crenate :  with  rounded  teeth  on  margins. 
Serrate :  with  sharp  teeth  on  margins. 
Incised :  with  deep  jagged  teeth. 
Lobed ' :  with  divisions  cut  to  about  the  middle. 
Cleft :  with  divisions  cut  more  than  halfway  into  the  leaf. 
Divided :  cleft  to  the  midrib. 
Pubescent :  covered  with  fine  hairs. 
Glabrous :  without  any  hairs,  smooth. 
Glaucous :  covered  with  a  bloom,  as  on  the  plum. 
Mucronate:  with  a  short  sharp  tip. 


THE  FLOWER 

Calyx :  the  outer  lower  set  of  leaves  at  the  base  of  the  flower.    Usually 

green,  but  sometimes  bright  coloured. 

Sepals :  the  leaves  of  the  calyx  when  it  is  divided  to  the  base. 
Corolla :  the  inner  set  of  leaves  of  the  flower. 
Petals :  the  leaves  of  the  corolla  when  it  is  divided  to  the  base. 


EXPLANATION  OF  BOTANICAL  TERMS  xxi 

Perianth  :  said  of  a  flower  having  only  one  set  of  floral  leaves. 
Pedicel :  the  small  individual  stalk  of  a  flower  borne  in  a  cluster. 
Peduncle:  the  main  flower-stalk. 
Sessile:   said  of  flowers  that  grow  close   to    the   stem    and   have   no 

pedicels. 

Raceme :  a  long-shaped  flower-head  formed  by  numerous  flowers  grow- 
ing on  pedicels  along  the  sides  of  a  common  stalk. 
Spike :  a  raceme  with  sessile  flowers. 
Head:  a  dense  spike,  globular  in  shape,  like  a  Clover. 
Corymb:  a  raceme  with  the  lower  flowers  on  longer  stalks,  so  that  the 

cluster  is  almost  flat  on  the  top,  as  in  the  Yarrow. 
Umbel:   like   a   corymb,    but  with   the  pedicels   all  branching  from  a 

central  point. 
Axillary:    growing  from  the  axil,  or  angle,  formed  by  the  leaf  and 

the  stem. 
Stamens :  composed  of 

Filament :  the  stalk  to  uphold  the  anther. 
Anther :  a  tiny  box  containing  the  pollen. 
Pollen  :  the  fertilizing  powder  of  the  plant. 
Pistil:  composed  of 

Ovary :  containing  the  ovules,  or  undeveloped  seeds. 
Style:  a  slender  stalk  surmounting  the  ovary. 

Stigma :  a  variously  formed  tip  of  the  style,  which  has  a  rough  moist 
surface  to  catch  the  pollen  that  fertilizes  the  seeds  by  means  of 
minute  tubes  that  penetrate  the  style  and  convey  the  pollen  from 
the  stigma  to  the  ovules. 

Spadix :  a  fleshy  spike,  as  in  the  Arum  Lily. 
Spathe:  the  concave  bract  enveloping  a  spike. 


MOUNTAIN  WILD   FLOWERS 
OF  AMERICA 

SECTION    I 
WHITE   TO   GREEN    FLOWERS 


SECTION  I 


WHITE  TO  GREEN  FLOWERS 


Flowers  that  are  white  to  green,  or  occasionally  so,  but  not 
described  in  this  Section 


Carolina  Crane's-bill  .  . 
Alpine  Willow-herb  .  . 
Hornemann's  Willow-herb 
Rough  Fleabane  .  .  . 
Pink  Everlasting  .  .  . 
Alpine  Bilberry  .... 
Dwarf  Bilberry  .... 
Mountain  Cranberry  .  . 
Red  Bearberry  .... 
Alpine  Bearberry  .  .  . 
Bird's-eye  Primrose  .  . 
Shooting  Star  .... 
Red  Indian  Paint-brush  . 
White  Indian  Paint-brush 
Mountain  Larkspur  .  . 

Dog  Violet 

Moss  Campion  .... 
Macoun's  Vetch  .  .  . 
Purple  Vetch  .... 
Alpine  Oxytrope  .  .  . 
Leafy-bracted  Aster  .  . 
Alpine  Fleabane  .  .  . 
Arctic  Fleabane  .  .  . 
Four-parted  Gentian  .  . 
Northern  Gentian  .  .  . 
Alpine  Gentian  .... 
Dwarf  Gentian  .... 
Mountain  Phacelia  .  .  . 
False  Forget-me-not  .  . 

Loco-weed 

Small  Hawkweed  .  .  . 
Narrow-leaved  Puccoon  . 


PAGE 

Geranium  Carolinianum  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  139 
Epilobium  anagallidifolium  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  147 
Epilobium  Hornemanni  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  .  148 

Erigeron  glabellus  (Pink  to  Red  Section) 152 

Antennaria  parvifolia  var.  rosea  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  152 
Vacciniwn  Myrtillus  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  ....  155 
Vaccinium  caspitosum  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  .155 
Vaccinium  Vitis-Id<za  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  .  155 
Arctostaphylos  Urva-ursi  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  158 
Arctostaphylos  alpina  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  .  159 

Prim ula  fa rinosa  (Pink  to  Red  Section) 164 

Dodecatheon  pauciflorum  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  165 
Castilleia  septentrionalis  (Pink  to  Red  Section)  .  .  166 

Castilleia  pallida  (Pink  to  Red  Section) 170 

Delphinium  Brownii  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)     .     .     .191 

Viola  adunca  (Blue  to  Purple  Section) 197 

Silsne  acaulis  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)        197 

Astragalus  Macounii  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  .  204 
Astragalus  hypoglottis  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  204 
Oxytropis -viscida  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  .  .207 

Aster  folia  ecus  (Blue  to  Purple  Section) 214 

Erigeron  lanatus  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  ....  220 
Erigeron  uniflorns  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  ....  220 
Gentiana  propinqua  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  .  230 

Gentiana  acuta  (Blue  to  Purple  Section) 230 

Gentiana  arctophila  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  .  230 
Gentiana  prostrata  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  .  .  .230 

Phacelia  sericea  (Blue  to  Purple  Section) 233 

Echinospermum  flor^bund^lm  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)  234 
Oxytropis  Lamberti  (Yellow  to  Orange  Section)  .  .  .  272 
Hieracium  gracile  (Yellow  to  Orange  Section)  .  .  .  305 
Lithospermum  angustifolium  (Yellowto  Orange  Section)  309 

3 


WHITE  TO  GREEN 


WESTERN  ANEMONE 

Anemone  occidentalis.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  erect,  six  to  eighteen  inches  high.  Leaves:  large,  long-petioled, 
biternate  and  pinnate.  Flowers:  large,  solitary;  petals  none;  sepals  five 
to  seven.  Fruit:  carpels  with  long  filiform  styles  that  become  plumose 
tails  to  the  achenes. 

The  Western  Anemone  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
early  spring  mountain  flowers.  Its  handsome  white  cups, 
purple-shaded  on  the  outside,  may  be  found  growing  close  to 
the  retreating  line  of  snow  during  the  months  of  May  and 
June,  and  later  on  in  the  season  its  big  fluffy  seed-heads  are 
eagerly  gathered  by  those  who  delight  in  artistic  things. 
This  plant,  like  many  others  of  the  Crowfoot  Family,  has  no 
petals,  only  a  lovely  calyx  fashioned  into  about  six  sepals, 
which  do  duty  instead. 

WIND-FLOWER 
Anemone  inultifida.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  villous  with  long  silky  hairs.  Leaves:  long-petioled,  nearly  semi- 
circular in  outline,  ternate,  stem-leaves  smaller,  nearly  sessile.  Flowers:  of 
five  to  eight  sepals.  Fruit:  globular  to  oblong;  achenes  densely  woolly. 

The  Wind-flower,  as  this  delicate  little  Anemone  is  usually 
called,  appears  on  the  dry  meadows  in  the  spring  time  in  a 
vast  variety  of  hues,  with  many  blossoms  and  much  fruit. 
Its  colours  range  from  white  to  red,  with  many  intermediate 
shades  of  yellow,  pink,  and  purple-blue.  It  is  to  Pliny,  the 
famous  ancient  philosopher,  that  it  owes  its  name,  for  he 
declared  that  only  the  wind  would  cause  Anemones  to  open  ; 
while  a  later  poet  lias  sung  how  Venus  in  her  grief  over 
the  death  of  Adonis  "poured  out  tears  amain,"  and  how 
"gentle  flowers  "  were  born  to  bloom  at  every  drop  that  fell 
from  her  lovely  eyes  : 

"  Where  streams  his  blood,  there  blushing  springs  the  rose, 
And  where  a  tear  has  dropped,  a  wind-flower  blows." 


PLATE  I 


WESTERN  ANEMONE*- 

{Anemone  occidentalis) 


PLATE  II 


At 


WIND-FLOWER 

(Anemone  multifidd) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS 


They  are  short-lived  flowers  ;  the  wind  blows  them  open 
and  wafts  them  away.  Rapidly  the  fruit  is  formed  in  a  thimble- 
like  head,  which  presently  bursts  and  is  seen  to  contain  many 
white  woolly  seeds.  The  leaves  are  very  deeply  cleft. 


ALPINE  ANEMONE 
Anemone  Drummondii.     Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  slender,  three  to  ten  inches  high  from  tufted  rootstocks. 
Leaves  :  on  long  petioles,  ternate,  leaflets  deeply  lobed.  Flowers :  of  five 
to  seven  sepals,  silky-villous  outside ;  style  slender,  glabrous.  Fruit : 
achenes  densely  villous. 

The  Alpine  Anemone  has  a  larger  flower  and  thicker  stalks 
than  A.  multifida  ;  it  also  grows  higher  up  on  the  mountains, 
and  may  be  found  close  to  perpetual  snow.  The  leaves  are 
set  in  a  circle  round  the  stalk,  about  two  inches  below  the 
blossom,  and  also  grow  up  from  the  base  of  the  plant.  They 
are  not  so  delicate  or  deeply  cut  as  those  of  A.  multifida. 
The  flower  is  rather  like  a  white  buttercup,  and  is  usually 
shaded  with  pale  blue  on  the  outside.  The  centre  is  yellow 
and  green. 

FEW-FLOWERED  ANEMONE 

A  netnone  pari> iflora.     Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  erect,  very  slender.  Leaves :  basal  ones  long-pe doled,  three- 
parted,  the  broad  wedge-shaped  divisions  obtusely  lobed  or  crenate,  those 
of  the  involucre  nearly  sessile,  similarly  lobed.  Flowers :  small,  of  oval, 
very  obtuse  sepals.  Fruit:  globose;  achenes  densely  woolly. 

The  smallest  and  most  delicate  of  all  the  mountain  Anemo- 
nes, it  is  usually  found  growing  in  the  thick  forests,  single  and 
solitary.  The  flowers  are  white,  veined  and  shaded  with  blue 
at  the  base  of  the  sepals. 


10  WHITE  TO   GREEN 

MEADOW-RUE 
Thalictrum  occidentale.     Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  slender,  one  to  three  feet  high.  Leaves :  ternate,  the  lower 
ones  petioled.  Flowers  :  nodding  on  very  slender  pedicels  in  an  ample 
open  panicle ;  filaments  purplish-green ;  anther  linear,  cuspidate ;  calyx 
of  four  to  eight  sepals  that  fall  early.  Fruit:  achenes  one  to  ten  in 
each  head,  ribbed,  lanceolate. 

A  dainty  plant,  with  delicate  foliage  closely  resembling 
robust  maiden-hair  fern.  The  eye  of  the  traveller  is  at  once 
caught  by  its  pretty  tassels,  which  hang  in  clusters  and  are 
of  a  pale  green  colour,  tipped  with  reddish-purple.  It  is  fre- 
quently found  along  the  margins  of  alpine  streams,  being  much 
admired  in  fruit,  when  it  shows  numerous  seed-bearing  stars, 
tipped  with  thread-like  points. 

GLOBE  FLOWER 

Trollius  laxus.     Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  weak,  ascending.  Leaves :  palmately  divided,  the  segments 
many-cleft.  Flowers :  solitary ;  sepals  five  to  six,  white,  with  a  greenish 
tinge  outside  ;  petals  fifteen  to  twenty-five,  bright  yellow,  minute,  much 
shorter  than  the  numerous  stamens. 

The  Globe  Flower  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  all  the 
early  spring  mountain  plants  that  grow  at  very  high  altitudes. 
Close  to  the  borders  of  alpine  lakes  and  streams,  and  in 
marshy  places  where  the  snow  has  recently  melted,  beds  of 
this  beautiful  large  white  flower  may  be  found,  its  brilliant 
golden  centre  gleaming  in  the  sunshine,  and  its  rich,  glossy 
foliage  forming  a  superb  setting  for  its  perfect  purity. 

Do  not  confuse  it  with  one  of  the  Anemones.  Note  that 
its  centre  is  far  larger  and  more  golden  in  hue ;  also  that  the 
foliage  is  coarser  and  thicker.  There  is  a  bushy  circle  of  leaves 
set  on  the  stalk  about  one  inch  below  the  blossom.  The 
Globe  Flower  is  frequently  found  growing  up  through  the 
snow. 


PLATE  III 


ALPINE  ANEMONE 

(A  item  one  Drum  m  ondii) 

II 


, 


PLATE  IV 


GLOBE  FLOWER 

( Trollius  lax^ts} 

13 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  15 

WATER-CRESS 
Nasturtium  officinale.    Mustard  Family 

Aquatic,  glabrous ;  root  fibrous.  Stems :  stout,  hollow,  rooting  at  the 
decumbent  base.  Leaves:  pinnate,  leaflets  rounded  or  elongated,  the  ter- 
minal ones  largest.  Flowers :  petals  white ;  sepals  four,  early-falling ; 
stamens  six;  style  short,  thick.  Fruit:  pods  divaricately  spreading,  seeds 
in  two  rows.  Not  indigenous. 

Surely  it  is  a  libel  to  call  this  plant  Nasturtium,  which 
signifies  "twisted  nose,"  and  is  given  to  Water-cress  simply 
because  we  are  supposed  to  turn  up  our  noses  when  we  eat 
its  acrid  leaves.  Those  who  go  out  to  gather  flowers  will 
seldom  pause  to  pick  this  insignificant  plant,  whose  clusters 
of  small  white  flowers  grow  close  beside,  or  actually  in,  the 
streams  and  ponds,  and  whose  only  claim  upon  our  attention 
lies  in  the  pleasant  pungent  flavour  of  its  leaves. 

STONY  ROCK-CRESS 

Arabis  Holboellii.     Mustard  Family 

Stems:  erect,  simple.  Leaves:  spatulate,  petioled,  entire  or  sparingly 
toothed;  stem-leaves  erect,  clasping.  Flowers:  white  or  pinkish.  Fruit: 
pods  linear,  drooping. 

Growing  out  of  a  cluster  of  long-shaped  leaves,  the  Stony 
Rock-cress  has  a  tall  stalk,  up  which  many  tiny  narrow  leaves 
cling.  The  flowers  are  small,  white,  mauve,  or  pinkish  bells, 
growing  in  a  raceme.  This  plant,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  gen- 
erally found  in  very  dry,  stony  places.  It  grows  from  eight 
to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  has  very  long,  narrow  seed-pods, 
which  droop  downwards. 

ALPINE   ROCK-CRESS 

Arabis  confinis.     Mustard  Family 

Stems :  glaucous,  simple  or  sparingly  branched,  one  to  two  feet  high. 
Leaves :  stellate,  pubescent,  obovate  ;  stem-leaves  sessile,  auricled  at  the 
base.  Fruit:  pods  narrow,  one  to  two  inches  long,  spreading. 


1 6  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

A  plant  somewhat  resembling  A.  Holbcellii,  but  its  flowers  are 
more  confined  to  the  top  of  the  stalk.  They  are  usually  white. 

HAIRY   ROCK-CRESS 

Arabis  hirsuta.    Mustard  Family 

Stems :  erect,  nearly  simple,  rough-hairy.  Leaves :  in  a  rosulate  cluster, 
ovate  to  spatulate,  sparsely  dentate  ;  stem-leaves  partly  clasping  by  a  cor- 
date base.  Flowers:  white,  small.  Fruit:  pods  strictly  erect,  linear. 

This  plant  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  other  Rock- 
cresses  by  its  hairy  stalks  and  leaves. 

DRUMMOND'S   ROCK-CRESS 

Arabis  Dmmmondii.     Mustard  Family 

Stems:  erect.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  sagittate.  Flowers:  petals  white  (sel- 
dom pink),  twice  the  length  of  the  sepals.  Fruit:  pods  loosely  erect ;  seeds 
wing-margined. 

A  handsome  leafy  species  of  Rock-cress,  very  abundant 
in  some  localities.  It  has  erect  flat  pods. 

WHITE   WHITLOW-GRASS 

Draba  incana.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  hoary,  pubescent.  Leaves:  oblong-lanceolate,  nearly  entire. 
Flowers:  petals  notched;  style  minute.  Fruit:  pods  acute,  twisted  when 
ripe,  on  short  erect  pedicels. 

A  plant  partaking  of  the  appearance  of  a  weed,  and  closely 
resembling  a  white  mustard. 

For  D.  alpina  and  D.  aurea  see  Yellow  to  Orange  Section. 

SHEPHERD'S   PURSE 

Capsella  Bursa-pastoris.     Mustard  Family 

Stems :  branching.  Leaves :  mostly  runcinate-pinnatifid,  cauline,  lanceo- 
late, auricled  at  base.  Flowers:  small,  white,  in  long  loose  racemes; 
petals  four ;  sepals  four.  Fruit :  pods  cuneate-triangular,  truncate  above  ; 
seeds  ten  or  twelve  in  each  cell.  Not  indigenous. 


PLATE  V 


DRUMMOND'S  ROCK-CRESS 

(A ra bis  Driimm ondit) 

17 


PLATE  VI 


CANADA  VIOLET 
( Viola  Canadensis) 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  21 

This  common  little  white-flowered  plant  grows  all  over  the 
world  in  temperate  zones  and  at  various  altitudes.  Its  tiny 
heart-shaped  seed-purses  have  amused  the  children  of  many 
countries.  It  is  closely  related  to  Candytuft,  to  which  it 
bears  a  strong  resemblance. 

PENNY-CRESS 

Thlaspi  arvense.     Mustard  Family 

Stems:  erect,  glabrous.  Leaves:  petioled,  oblanceolate,  dentate  ;  stem- 
leaves  oblong.  Flowers:  white,  pedicels  spreading  or  curved  upward. 
Fruit:  pods  nearly  orbicular  when  ripe,  broad,  very  flat,  notched  at  the 
apex,  in  long  racemes  ;  seeds  rugose.  Not  indigenous. 

Penny-cress  very  nearly  resembles  Shepherd's  Purse,  and 
the  easiest  way  to  distinguish  between  the  two  plants  is  to 
note  that  while  the  seed-pods  of  the  latter  are  triangular  in 
shape,  those  of  the  Penny-cress  are  nearly  round,  both  being 
notched  at  the  top.  Then,  also,  the  leaves  differ  :  those  of  the 
Shepherd's  Purse  are  deeply  cut,  and  those  of  the  Penny- 
cress  are  only  slightly  toothed. 

CANADA  VIOLET 

Viola  Canadensis.     Violet  Family 

Stems:  glabrous,  six  inches  to  two  feet  high.  Leaves:  cordate,  pointed, 
serrate;  stipules  entire.  Flowers:  petals  white,  tinged  and  veined  with 
purple,  sometimes  nearly  mauve-pink  ;  spur  very  short ;  stigma  beakless. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  many  violets  that  grow  in 
the  mountains,  its  lovely  white  petals,  purple-shaded  on  the 
back,  giving  forth  a  delicate  fragrance,  and  its  tall  leafy  stems 
bearing  aloft  many  blossoms.  Usually  it  is  found  in  the  moist 
mossy  woods,  where  it  flourishes  luxuriantly  ;  but  it  also  grows 
on  the  open  alpine  meadows,  though  here  its  stalks  are  not  so 
tall  nor  its  flowers  so  large  as  they  are  in  the  shade  of  the 
pines  and  firs.  The  Canada  Violet  continues  to  bloom  from 
June  until  September. 


22  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

WHITE   CAMPION 

Silene  Maconnii.    Pink  Family 

Stems:  slender,  from  a  -branching  rootstock,  minutely  pubescent. 
Leaves:  linear-oblanceolate.  Flowers:  few,  on  pedicels;  calyx  inflated, 
with  short  obtuse  teeth ;  petals  little  exserted,  with  a  broadly-auricled 
claw,  and  large,  thin  quadrate  appendages,  the  flabellate  bifid  blade  with 
a  linear  tooth  on  each  side. 

Like  many  of  the  Campions,  this  one  is  very  sticky,  and  is 
characterized,  in  common  with  other  members  of  the  Pink 
Family,  by  its  slender  stems  being  jointed  and  the  leaves  set 
in  pairs  at  the  joints.  It  gives  out  a  faint  sweet  odour,  and  is 
usually  found  growing  among  the  stones  on  steep  hillsides. 


NIGHT-FLOWERING   CATCHFLY 

Silene  noctiflora.    Pink  Family 

Stems :  viscid-pubescent,  simple  or  branching.  Leaves :  obovate,  obtuse, 
narrowed  into  a  broad  petiole;  upper  leaves  sessile,  ovate,  acute. 
Flowers:  few,  white,  in  a  loose  dichotomous  panicle  ;  calyx  long,  tubular, 
veined,  its  teeth  linear.  Not  indigenous. 

There  is  little  need  to  describe  this  plant  in  detail,  since  its 
name  alone  is  sufficient  to  indicate  its  chief  characteristics. 
Closed  tightly  against  all  invasion  during  the  daytime,  and 
only  opening  wide  its  white  starry  blossoms  to  the  wooing  of 
the  soft  night  wind,  this  Catchfly  sends  forth  sweetest  per- 
fume and  lures  the  crepuscular  flies  to  their  doom  by  first 
attracting  with  its  scent  and  its  snowiness,  and  then  entrap- 
ing  with  its  stickiness  those  poor  deluded  insects  that  hover 
over  its  beauty,  enchanted  until  enchained.  Thus  does  the 
Catchfly  protect  its  nectar  from  pilfering  insects  and  pre- 
serve it  for  the  butterflies,  who,  while  they  sip  the  sweets, 
carry  the  pollen  from  flower  to  flower  and  thereby  fertilize 
the  plants. 


PLATE  VII 


FIELD  CHICKWEED 

(Cerastium  arvense) 

23 


PLATE  VIII 


SPRING  BEAUTY 
(Claytonia  sessilifolia) 

25 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  27 

ROCK   SANDWORT 

Arenaria  nardifolia.    Pink  Family 

Stems:  diffusely  cespitose,  glabrous  below,  branching  from  the  base. 
Leaves:  slender,  rigid,  subulate,  numerous,  fascicled  in  the  axils. 
Flowers:  petals  oblong-obovate  ;  sepals  ovate,  very  acute.  Fruit:  capsule 
as  long  as  the  calyx. 

A  tiny  plant  with  white  starry  blossoms  that  finds  a  home 
in  crevices  of  the  rocks  at  extremely  high  altitudes.  There 
are  many  different  species  of  Sandwort  in  all  mountain 
regions,  and  some  of  them,  such  as  A.  biflora,  or  Arctic  Sand- 
wort,  have  been  found  9000  feet  above  sea  level ;  but  they 
are  insignificant  plants,  and  only  attract  passing  attention 
when  seen  near  the  snow-line,  where  vegetation  is  so  sparse 
that  even  the  smallest  flower  is  welcomed  with  avidity. 

STICHWORT 

Stellaria  longipes.    Pink  Family 

Steins :  smooth.  Leaves :  ascending,  linear-lanceolate.  Flowers :  few,  on 
long  slender  pedicels;  petals  two-cleft;  sepals  ovate.  Fruit:  capsule 
ovoid.  Seeds  smooth. 

A  pretty  little  flower,  with  whitish-green  leaves,  very 
pointed  at  the  ends. 

FIELD   CHICKWEED 

Cerastium  arvense.    Pink  Family 

Stems:  erect,  pubescent  with  reflexed  hairs,  cespitose,  four  to  eight 
inches  high.  Leaves:  linear-oblong,  acute,  clasping;  bracts  small.  Flowers: 
cymose,  few-flowered  ;  petals  five,  obcordate. 

This  is  quite  the  prettiest  and  most  attractive  of  all  the 
Chick  weeds,  and  will  be  found  growing  in  profusion  on  many 
a  sunny  bank  and  dry  meadow  during  the  months  of  June 
and  July.  It  is  frequently  called  "  Star  of  Bethlehem,"  and 


28  WHITE  TO   GREEN 

has  five  snow-white  petals,  each  of  which  is  divided  at  the 
edge.  All  the  Chickweeds  are  white,  and  among  those  that 
are  specially  prolific  in  mountain  regions  may  be  mentioned 
C.  alpinum  var.  Behringianum,  or  Alpine  Chickweed,  a  silky- 
haired  species,  with  whitish  leaves. 


SPRING  BEAUTY 

Claytonia  sessilifolia.    Purslane  Family 

Stems :  weak,  from  a  tuber.  Leaves:  few,  opposite,  oblong.  Flowers:  in 
a  loose  raceme  on  slender  pedicels,  nodding,  white  or  pale  pink ;  veins 
rose ;  calyx  of  two  ovate  sepals ;  petals  five  ;  style  three-cleft  at  apex. 

Close  to  the  snow,  in  warm  wet  valleys,  when  the  June 
sunshine  has  awakened  the  alpine  world  from  its  winter  sleep, 
you  will  find  the  Spring  Beauty,  and  as  you  stoop  to  gather 
it  the  whole  plant  (consisting  of  a  tuberous  root  and  one  stalk 
with  two  leaves  upon  it  and  a  cluster  of  blossoms  at  the  top) 
will  inevitably  come  up  in  your  hand,  so  easily  does  it  leave 
the  ground.  No  sooner  does  this  happen  than  the  petals  begin 
to  close,  the  leaves  to  droop,  and  the  stem  to  grow  limp.  Ten 
minutes  afterwards  the  flower  is  hopelessly  wilted.  Whether 
white  or  delicate  pink,  the  Spring  Beauty  is  always  veined 
with  bright  rose  colour.  There  are  few  more  exquisite  wild 
blossoms  on  this  continent  than 

"  These  little  dream-flowers  found  in  Spring," 
of  which  Longfellow  wrote  in  "  Hiawatha"  : 

"  Where  the  fire  had  smoked  and  smouldered, 
Saw  the  earliest  flower  of  Spring-time, 
Saw  the  Beauty  of  the  Spring-time, 
Saw  the  Miskodeed  in  blossom." 

Miskodeed  is  the  Indian  name  for  the  Spring  Beauty. 


PLATE  IX 


BIRCH-LEAVED  SPIR^A 

(Spircca  hid  da) 

29 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  31 


WHITE  GERANIUM 

Geranium  Richardsoni.    Geranium  Family 

Stems :  erect  with  slender  branches,  one  to  three  feet  high.  Leaves :  deeply 
five-to-seven-cleft,  lobes  sharply  incised.  Flowers:  petals  entire,  hirsute 
at  base  ;  sepals  glandular,  pilose. 

This  Geranium  is  almost  invariably  white,  but  very  occa- 
sionally it  is  purple-red.  The  plant  is  a  handsome  one,  tall, 
with  rich  foliage  and  fine  flowers. 


WHITE  CLOVER 
Trifolium  repens.    Pea  Family 

Perennial,  branching  at  the  base,  rooting  at  the  nodes.  Leaves:  long- 
petioled ;  stipules  narrow,  lanceolate ;  leaflets  obcordate,  denticulate. 
Flowers:  white  or  pinkish,  in  loose,  globose  long-peduncled  heads;  calyx 
teeth  acuminate.  Fruit:  pods  four-seeded.  Not  indigenous. 

This  Common  or  Honeysuckle  Clover  is  widely  distributed. 
It  may  be  quickly  recognized  by  the  fact  that  the  leaves 
all  grow  on  long  stalks  directly  from  the  root,  whereas  the 
other  white  species,  T.  Jiybridum,  or  Alsatian  Clover,  is  much 
taller  and  has  numerous  leaves  growing  up  on  its  flower- 
stalks.  The  latter  species  is  frequently  pinkish  in  hue. 

Clovers  have  a  very  close  association  with  our  childhood, 
those  happy  bygone  days  when  we  plucked  out  single  flowers 
from  the  rounded  heads  and  sucked  the  slender  tubes  of 
nectar ;  and  always  the  sweet  scent  of  the  Clover  blossoms 
recalls  to  us  the  well-remembered  fields  where 

"  South  winds  jostle  them, 
Bumble-bees  come, 
Hover,  hesitate, 
Drink,  and  are  gone." 


WHITE  TO  GREEN 


INDIAN  VETCH 

Astragalus  aboriginorum.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  finely  glabrate,  erect,  branched.  Leaves:  leaflets  linear,  obtuse  ; 
stipules  ovate,  acute,  foliaceous.  Flowers:  white,  tinged  with  mauve  in 
loose  racemes ;  peduncles  longer  than  the  leaves  ;  calyx  blackish-pubescent, 
its  teeth  subulate.  Fruit :  pods  semi-elliptic. 

One  of  the  least  attractive  of  the  Vetches.  It  has  a  long 
yellow  root  which  is  collected  in  the  spring  by  the  Stoney  and 
Cree  Indians  as  an  article  of  food.  The  leaves  are  whitish 
and  rather  silky,  and  the  flowers  are  chiefly  noticeable  by 
reason  of  their  dark-hued  hairy  calyx. 

ARCTIC  VETCH 

Phaca  Americana.    .Pea  Family 

Stems:  erect,  nearly  simple,  tall,  leafy,  subglabrous.  Leaves:  leaflets 
seven-to-nine  paired,  ovate,  and  elliptic-oblong;  peduncles  equalling  the 
leaves.  Flowers :  white,  in  a  loose  raceme.  Fruit :  pods  oblong,  acute  at 
each  end,  black-hairy. 

A  handsome  plant,  growing  one  to  two  feet  high,  with  many 
leaves,  and  big  white-flowered  heads.  It  has  no  tendrils,  but 
grows  very  stiffly  with  thick  upright  stalks. 

WHITE   VETCH 

Lathyrus  ocJiroleucus.    Pea  Family 

Stems :  slender,  trailing.  Leaves :  leaflets  in  three  to  four  pairs,  ovate, 
distinctly  petioled;  stipules  semi-cordate,  entire.  Flowers:  seven-to-ten 
flowered,  ochroleucus;-  tendrils  branched.  Fruit:  pods  oblong-linear, 
sessile,  glabrous. 

No  one  wandering  in  the  summer  woods  can  mistake  this 
dainty,  delicate  White  Vetch,  which  trails  along  the  ground, 
climbs  over  fallen  trees,  and  twines  its  tiny  branching  tendrils 
about  the  shrubs  beside  which  it  grows.  The  flowers  resemble 
those  of  the  common  garden  green  pea. 


PLATE  X 


33 


PLATE  XI 


<   b 

CO     "^ 
55      & 

If 

O     c^ 

u  2- 


35 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  37 

WHITE  HEDYSARUM 

Hedysaruin  boreale  var.  albiflorum.    Pea  Family 

This  is  a  white  species  of  H.  boreale,  a  full  description  of 
which  will  be  found  in  the  Blue  to  Purple  Section. 

BIRCH-LEAVED  SPIRAEA 

Spircea  lucida.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  reddish,  woody,  one  to  two  feet  high.  Leaves :  lower  ones 
small,  obovate ;  upper  ones  oval,  acutish,  unequally  serrate  on  short  peti- 
oles. Flowers:  cream-colour  in  compound  corymbs;  petals  five,  rounded. 

A  small  bushy  shrub  with  woody  stems  bearing  large 
showy,  fluffy  flower-heads,  flattened  on  the  top  and  formed 
of  numerous  tiny  cream-coloured  blossoms  tinged  with  pink. 

It  frequently  grows  by  the  side  of  mountain  roads  and  at 
the  edge  of  trails,  where  the  bright  sunshine  brings  it  out  to 
perfection.  The  red  woody  stems  break  off  with  a  sharp 
snap,  and  the  scent  of  the  flowers  is  extremely  sweet. 

This  Spiraea  is  really  a  flowering  shrub,  but  is  placed  in 
this  Section  for  greater  convenience,  as  it  is  here  that  most 
travellers  will  look  for  it. 

ALPINE  SPIRAEA 

Spircsa  pectinata.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  cespitose,  creeping,  very  leafy ;  flowering  stems  erect.  Leaves : 
trifoliolate,  persistent ;  leaflets  deeply  lobed.  Flowers :  in  short  terminal 
racemes ;  calyx-lobes  ovate,  acute,  equalling  the  tube  ;  petals  obovate. 

A  lovely  trailing  plant,  its  flowers  growing  to  an  average 
height  of  four  inches,  in  elongated  heads,  each  individual  tiny 
blossom  having  six  white  petals  and  a  number  of  yellow 
stamens.  The  leaves  grow  close  to  the  ground,  resembling  a 
large  moss,  and  are  deeply  fringed  and  fern-like.  The  shoots 
of  the  plant  run  along  the  ground ;  the  stems  of  the  flowers 
are  brittle  and  woody. 


38  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

CREEPING  RASPBERRY 

Rubus  pedatus.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  trailing,  filiform,  rooting  at  the  nodes,  pubescent.  Leaves :  tri- 
foliolate;  leaflets  cuneate-obovate,  incised,  serrate.  Flowers:  solitary  on 
long  slender  pedicels ;  sepals  nearly  glabrous,  entire,  exceeding  the  petals. 
Fruit:  large  red  juicy  drupelets. 

A  charming  little  vine  that  trails  over  the  rocks  and  creeps 
along  the  ground,  gemming  the  moss  with  its  starry  five- 
petalled  white  flowers,  in  the  centre  of  each  of  which  grow 
many  fine  yellow-tipped  stamens.  The  leaves  are  divided  into 
three  (or  very  rarely  five)  leaflets,  which  are  coarsely  toothed 
at  the  edges.  The  fruit  consists  of  a  cluster  of  from  three  to 
six  red  juicy  globules,  pressed  together  and  held  in  a  cup  of 
tiny  green  leaves.  The  long  lithe  strands  of  this  pretty,  deli- 
cate vine  are  most  decorative,  as  many  white  flowers  and 
scarlet  fruits  may  be  gathered  at  the  same  time  upon  a  single 
trailing  branch. 


WHITE  DRYAS 

Dryas  octopetala.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  prostrate,  woody  at  the  base,  branched.  Leaves :  oblong-ovate, 
coarsely  crenate-toothed,  obtuse  at  each  end,  green  and  glabrous  above, 
densely  white-canescent  beneath,  the  veins  prominent.  Flowers:  white. 
Fruit:  plumose,  conspicuous. 

These  beautiful  white-cupped  flowers  grow  close  to  the 
ground,  generally  in  dry  sandy  or  rocky  places.  They  do 
not  always  have  eight  petals,  as  their  name  would  indicate, 
but  may  be  found  with  from  six  to  twelve  on  a  single  flower. 
The  name  Dryas  is  from  the  Latin,  signifying  "  a  wood- 
nymph,"  and  certainly  the  velvety  petals  of  this  dainty  plant, 
growing  amid  a  mass  of  silver-backed  leaves,  are  sufficiently 
exquisite  to  warrant  the  appellation. 


PLATE  XII 


TALL  SAXIFRAGE 
(Saxifraga  Nutkana) 

39 


PLATE  XIII 


ALPINE  SAXIFRAGE 

(Saxifraga  nivalis] 
41 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  43 

WILD  STRAWBERRY 

Fragaria  glauca.    Rose  Family 

Stems:  running,  and  forming  new  plants.  Leaves:  tufted  from  the  root, 
villous-pubescent  with  spreading  hairs,  long-petioled,  palmately-trifoliate ; 
leaflets  oval,  obtuse,  dentate,  the  terminal  one  cuneate.  Flowers:  of  five 
petals,  cymose;  scape  with  appressed  pubescens  and  generally  glaucous 
leaves.  Fruit:  red,  ovoid. 

Nearly  every  one  will  easily  recognize  the  blossoms  of  the 
Wild  Strawberry  plant.  "  Doubtless  God  could  have  made  a 
better  berry,  but  doubtless  God  never  did."  This  is  equally 
true  of  the  fragrant  scarlet  fruits  on  the  mountain  side  as  of 
their  cultivated  cousins  in  the  garden. 

TALL  CINQUEFOIL 

Potentilla  arguta.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  stout,  simple  below.  Leaves :  seven-to-eleven  foliolate ; 
leaflets  ovate,  obtuse  at  the  apex, — the  terminal  one  cuneate,  the  others 
rounded  at  the  base.  Flowers :  cyme  strict,  close ;  calyx  densely  pubescent. 

Cinquefoils  are  very  numerous  in  the  mountain  regions, 
and  somewhat  resemble  buttercups.  The  Tall  Cinquefoil  is 
a  fine  showy  plant,  its  white  flowers  growing  in  a  cluster  and 
having  five  petals  ;  the  stalks  are  hairy  and  have  many  leaves 
growing  up  them.  See  also  page  276  in  the  Yellow  to  Orange 
Section. 

COMMON  SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  bronchialis.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  one  to  six  inches  high,  ascending,  slender,  producing  short 
branchlets.  Leaves:  coriaceous,  lanceolate,  mucronate,  sessile,  with  a 
broad  base  finely  ciliate.  Flowers:  few,  in  an  open  corymb  on  slender 
pedicels ;  petals  oblong,  white,  marked  with  red  spots. 

Frequently  the  traveller  will  find  immense  rocky  slopes 
literally  covered  with  the  pretty  little  blossoms  of  this  Saxi- 
frage, which  may  easily  be  recognized  by  the  bright  red  spots 


44  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

that  mark  its  five  white  petals.  It  is  a  low-growing  species, 
the  flower-stalks  seldom  exceeding  six  inches  in  height,  and 
being  much  branched  and  reddish  in  colour.  The  tiny  narrow 
leaves  are  very  stiff,  —  indeed,  a  noticeable  characteristic  of 
the  whole  plant  is  its  rigid  nature.  The  name  is  derived  from 
saxum,  "a  rock,"  and  frango,  "I  break,"  and  the  Germans 
call  it  Steinbrech,  because  it  grows  so  thickly  in  the  crevices 
of  the  rocks  that  it  is  supposed  to  disintegrate  them  by  its 
growth.  All  the  Saxifrages  are  much  visited  by  flies  and 
bees,  and 

"  Scarce  less  the  cleft-born  wild-flower  seems  to  enjoy 
Existence,  than  the  winged  plunderer 
That  sucks  its  sweets." 

NODDING  SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  cernua.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  tall,  slender,  glutinous.  Leaves:  alternate,  basal  ones  petioled, 
broadly  reniform,  palmately  five-to-seven  lobed ;  upper  leaves  smaller, 
entire,  sessile,  bract-like,  with  small  red  bulblets  in  their  axils.  Flowers :  ter- 
minal, nodding. 

A  creamy-white  flower,  more  rare  than  many  of  its  sister 
Saxifrages,  and  growing  from  four  to  eight  inches  high.  The 
traveller  will  at  once  be  struck  by  the  little  bright  red  bulbs 
that  grow  in  the  axils,  where  each  upper  leaf  is  attached  to 
the  stalk ;  and  by  this  characteristic,  as  well  as  by  its  lower 
palm-like  leaves,  the  Nodding  Saxifrage  may  be  readily  known. 
It  grows  among  the  rocks  at  very  high  altitudes. 

LYALL'S   SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  Lyallii.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems :  glabrous,  caudex  creeping,  sparingly  branched.  Leaves :  obovate, 
attenuate  below  to  a  margined  petiole,  coarsely  toothed  at  the  summit. 
Flowers :  numerous ;  calyx  parted  to  the  base ;  petals  round-obovate ;  fila- 
ments flat.  Fruit :  capsule  united  only  at  base ;  beaks  red,  erect. 


PLATE  XIV 


LEPTARRHENA 

{Leptarrheiia  pyroli folia) 
45 


PLATE  XV 


TELLIMA 
(  Tellima  grandiflord) 


47 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  49 

There  are  two  tall  very  branching  white  Saxifrages  which 
to  the  ordinary  eye  closely  resemble  one  another,  namely, 
Lyall's  Saxifrage  and  Tall  Saxifrage,  and  a  careful  reference 
to  the  descriptions  of  each  should  be  made  in  determining  a 
particular  plant. 

Lyall's  Saxifrage  is  the  smaller  of  the  two  plants,  and  is 
less  branching ;  its  leaves  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  base,  are 
rounded,  deeply  toothed,  and  often  tinged  and  streaked  with 
red.  The  flowers,  which  are  very  numerous,  are  white.  A 
special  distinguishing  feature  is  the  seed-pods,  three  or  four 
in  number,  which  develop  in  the  centre  of  each  flower  in  a 
cluster,  and  are  red,  with  very  pointed  beaks. 


TALL  SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  Nutkana.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems :  tall,  erect  from  a  fleshy  caudex,  paniculately  branched  above. 
Leaves:  cuneate,  spatulate,  attenuate  to  a  broad  petiole,  coarsely  dentate 
above  the  middle.  Flowers:  numerous,  in  a  loose  secund  panicle;  petals 
five,  white,  with  a  red  spot  at  base  of  blade;  filaments  clavate  as  long  as 
the  petals.  Fruit :  beaks  red,  erect. 

The  Tall  Saxifrage  is  a  larger  and  handsomer  plant  than 
Lyall's  variety.  It  is  also  more  branching,  growing  from  six 
to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  covered  with  many  tiny  white 
blossoms,  each  with  a  bright  orange  or  red  spot  at  the  base 
of  the  blade.  The  leaves  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  base, 
from  the  centre  of  which  the  flower-stalks  spring ;  they  are 
hairy,  long-shaped,  and  sharply  toothed.  You  can  best  dis- 
tinguish the  Tall  Saxifrage  from  Lyall's  species  by  the  leaves, 
which  in  the  former  are  spatulate  and  long-shaped  and  in  the 
latter  rounded.  The  Tall  Saxifrage  also  generally  has  small 
bulblets  growing  below  the  flowers. 


5o  WHITE  TO   GREEN 

ALPINE  SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  HIV  alls.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  six  inches  high,  viscid-pubescent,  with  few  or  no  bracts. 
Leaves:  ovate,  narrowed  into  a  margined  petiole.  Flowers:  white,  in  a 
compact  cluster.  Fruit :  follicles  divergent,  purple-red. 

A  plant  which  grows  at  extremely  high  altitudes,  as  well 
as  on  the  lower  mountain  slopes.  It,  too,  has  a  cluster  of 
leaves  at  the  base,  rounded  and  toothed  at  the  top  and  nar- 
rowing down  sharply  towards  the  root.  The  flowers  grow 
in  handsome  compact  heads,  and  the  stalks,  usually  quite 
bare  of  leaves,  are  reddish  and  not  straight.  The  seed-pods 
are  purple-red  and  spreading. 

LEPTARRHENA 

Leptarrhena  pyro lifolia.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  six  to  fifteen  inches  high,  rigid,  with  one  or  two  small  leaves 
with  sheathing  petioles.  Leaves:  obovate,  coarsely  serrate  above  the 
middle,  attenuate  below  to  a  short-winged  petiole,  which  is  dilated  and 
sheathing  at  the  base.  Flowers :  numerous,  in  bracted  paniculate  racemes  ; 
petals  five,  entire,  linear,  white  ;  calyx  campanulate.  Fruit :  carpels  purple- 
red,  divergent. 

A  very  handsome  plant,  with  closely  clustered  flower-heads 
and  thick  glossy  leaves.  In  seed  it  is  remarkable  for  its  rich 
purple-red  appearance.  It  grows  in  quantities  near  many 
alpine  streams. 

TELLIMA 

Telliina  grandiflora.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  hispid-pubescent,  from  short  tufted  rootstocks.  Leaves:  round- 
cordate,  three-to-nine  lobed,  coarsely  toothed,  on  long  petioles.  Flowers : 
cream-colour,  with  rose-pink  margins,  on  very  short  reflexed  pedicels ; 
calyx  thick,  cylindraceous,  with  turbinate  tube  and  short,  triangular,  erect 
lobes,  inflated ;  petals  laciniately  cut  into  filiform  segments,  narrowed 
below  to  a  short  claw. 


PLATE  XVI 


MARSH  GRASS  OF  PARNASSUS  (Parnassia  montanensis) 

FRINGED  GRASS  OF  PARNASSUS  (Parnassia  fimbriata) 

51 


PLATE  XVII 


WILD  PARSLEY 

(Ligusticiun  apiifolium} 


53 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  55 

A  plant  that  is  easily  recognized  by  means  of  its  long 
stalks,  bearing  numerous  round  cream-coloured  or  green  blos- 
soms, which  are  set  closely  against  it,  their  edges  rose  colour 
and  deeply  fringed.  It  grows  from  one  to  two  feet  high  and 
has  quantities  of  foliage,  the  leaves  being  large,  rounded,  and 
lobed,  with  fine  white  hairs  standing  up  all  over  them. 

FALSE  MITRE-WORT 

Tiarella  unifoliata.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  slender,  spreading  from  running  rootstocks.  Leaves:  simple, 
cordate,  acute,  obscurely  five-to-seven  lobed  on  long  fine  petioles. 
Flowers :  numerous,  in  a  narrow  panicle  ;  calyx  cleft  to  near  the  base ; 
petals  five,  filiform  ;  stamens  ten. 

The  tiny  feathery  flowers  of  the  False  Mitre-wort  are  found 
in  great  quantities  in  the  mountains.  Their  large  heart- 
shaped  leaves  appear  to  carpet  the  ground  about  three  inches 
above  the  soil  in  the  localities  where  they  abound,  and  their 
great  white  masses  of  delicate  bloom  have  earned  for  them 
the  name  of  "  Foam-Flower."  The  Latin  name  Tiarella  means 
ua  little  tiara,"  and  refers  to  the  shape  of  the  capsule,  while 
unifoliata  refers  to  the  one  leaf  on  the  flower-stalk. 

TRUE  MITRE-WORT 

Mitella  Breweri.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems :  pubescent  with  brownish  hairs.  Leaves :  round-cordate,  three-to- 
five  lobed,  toothed.  Flowers :  small,  green,  in  simple  spicate  racemes  ;  calyx 
short,  campanulate  ;  petals  pectinately  pinnate,  with  filiform  pinnaea. 

The  True  Mitre-wort  is  one  of  the  few  absolutely  green 
flowers  that  grow  in  the  mountains  ;  it  derives  its  name  of 
Mitella,  or  Bishop's  Cap,  from  the  form  of  the  seed-pod.  It 
differs  from  the  False  Mitre -wort,  first,  in  that  its  blossoms 
are  much  more  fragile  and  green,  and  secondly,  in  that  it  is 
more  leafy  and  is  covered  with  tiny  hairs. 


56  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

ALUM-ROOT 

Heuchera  oixilifolia.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  six  to  eighteen  inches  high,  leafless.  Leaves:  ovate,  cordate, 
crenate.  Flowers:  greenish-cream,  small,  in  terminal  panicles,  spike-like, 
cylindrical,  two  to  four  inches  long ;  calyx  campanulate  ;  petals  filiform 
or  none.  Fruit :  seeds  hispid. 

This  plant  is  usually  found  in  very  dry  stony  places,  among 
the  rocks  or  on  gravelly  slopes.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  tall 
stiff  stalks,  which  are  leafless  and  end  in  a  dense  spike  of 
closely-set  creamy  flowers.  The  leaves  are  green  and  reddish, 
round,  and  with  wavy  margins.  It  is  a  peculiar  but  not  an 
attractive  plant. 

MARSH  GRASS  OF  PARNASSUS 

P amass ia  inontaiiejisis.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems :  bearing  one  clasping  ovate  leaf.  Leaves :  ovate,  petioled,  obtuse 
at  the  apex,  cordate  at  the  base.  Flowers:  elliptic,  few-veined  ;  petals  five  ; 
stamens  numerous,  in  clusters  at  the  base  of  each  petal. 

Why  "Grass,"  and  why  "  of  Parnassus"?  Assuredly  the 
traveller  will  be  surprised  when  he  finds  what  kind  of  flower 
bears  this  exceedingly  unsuitable  name,  for  the  Grass  of 
Parnassus  is  like  a  delicate  white  buttercup,  the  veins  in  its 
petals  being  strongly  marked,  and  numerous  stamens  growing 
at  the  base  of  every  blade.  Each  stalk  is  clasped  by  a  single 
little  round  leaf,  and  a  mass  of  smooth  glossy  foliage  grows 
close  to  the  ground.  These  basal  leaves  are  much  curled  up, 
and  in  low-lying  mars'hes  and  other  wet  places  you  will  find 
them  in  profusion  during  the  month  of  July.  Perhaps  it  was 
the  velvety  petals  of  the  Grass  of  Parnassus  that  caused 
Emerson  to  ask  : 

"  Why  Nature  loves  the  number  five, 
And  why  the  star-form  she  repeats  ?  " 


PLATE  XVIII 


BUNCH-BERRY 

(  Corn  ^(s  Canadensis) 


57 


PLATE  XIX 


NORTHERN  BEDSTRAW 
(G  alium  boreale) 

59 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  6 1 

For  in  this  particular  mountain  wild  flower  the  five  petals  and 
the  star-form  are  both  especially  conspicuous. 

Another  species  of  this  genus  is  P.  fimbriata^  or  Fringed 
Grass  of  Parnassus,  also  very  common  in  moist  places 
among  the  mountains.  It  closely  resembles  the  plant  already 
described,  but  may  be  clearly  distinguished  from  it,  because 
the  petals  are  conspicuously  fringed  towards  the  base  and 
have  fine  marginal  hairs. 

P.  Kotzebuei,  or  Alpine  Grass  of  Parnassus,  is  a  tiny  spe- 
cies, only  a  few  inches  high,  and  is  found  at  great  altitudes. 


WILD  PARSLEY 

Ligusticum  apiifolium.    Parsley  Family 

Roots  large,  aromatic.  Stems:  thick.  Leaves:  radical,  ternate,  or  biter- 
nate,  then  once  or  twice  pinnate,  the  segments  ovate,  laciniately  pinnatifid. 
Flowers:  in  umbels  of  numerous  rays,  with  involucre  of  linear  bracts; 
calyx-lobes  obsolete. 

A  beautiful  plant,  having  fine  white  flower-heads  and 
decorative  fern-like  foliage. 

COW-PARSNIP 

Heracleum  lanatum.    Parsley  Family 

Stems:  very  stout,  tomentose-pubescent,  rigid.  Leaves:  petioled,  ter- 
nately  divided,  the  segments  broadly  ovate,  cordate,  stalked,  lobed  and 
sharply  serrate  ;  petioles  much  inflated.  Flowers :  umbels  many-rayed. 

Heracleum,  from  the  Greek  name  of  Hercules,  is  an  excel- 
lent designation  for  this  huge  Cow-Parsnip,  which  among 
plants  is  certainly  a  veritable  hero  for  strength  and  size, 
frequently  growing  to  a  height  of  eight  feet.  Its  huge 
leaves  and  great  clusters  of  white  flowers,  often  measuring 
a  foot  across,  are  very  showy,  and  once  seen  will  always 
be  remembered.  The  plant  has  an  extremely  nasty  smell. 


62  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

BUNCH-BERRY 

Cornus  Canadensis.    Dogwood  Family 

Stems,  erect.  Leaves:  verticillate  at  the  summit  of  the  stem,  sessile, 
oval,  pinnately  veined,  acute  at  each  end,  entire ;  bracts  involucral, 
white.  Flowers:  greenish,  capitate.  Fruit:  red,  globose. 

A  slender  tough  stem  bearing  a  circle  of  four  or  five  oval, 
pointed  leaves  at  its  summit,  out  of  the  midst  of  which  grows 
a  cluster  of  inconspicuous  tiny  green  flowers,  surrounded  by 
four  beautiful  white  bracts,  —  such  is  the  Bunch-berry,  or 
Pigeon-berry,  which  we  find  everywhere  in  the  forests.  It 
will  surprise  many  travellers  to  learn  that  the  lovely  white 
leaves  are  not  the  petals,  but  only  the  bracts  encircling  the 
wee  green  flowers  in  the  centre. 

When  these  white  bracts  have  fallen  off,  each  flower-head 
develops  into  a  bunch  of  small  scarlet  berries,  from  which  the 
species  derives  its  common  name. 

NORTHERN  BEDS TR AW 

Galium  boreale.    Madder  Family 

Stems:  smooth,  branched,  leafy.  Leaves:  in  fours,  linear,  acute.  Flowers: 
in  terminal  panicles,  dense,  many-flowered  in  small  compact  cymes. 
Fruit:  hispid. 

The  Northern  Bedstraw  may  be  distinguished  by  the  fact 
that  its  tiny  narrow  leaves  grow  in  circles  of  four  round  the 
stems.  It  is  a  plant  bearing  many  small  white  flowers  in 
clusters,  and  the  seeds  are  twin  burs,  covered  with  numerous 
hooked  bristles,  by  means  of  which  they  cling  to  the  clothing 
of  the  passer-by  and  the  fur  of  animals. 

Sir  John  Franklin  in  his  book  The  Polar  Seas  describes 
this  plant  as  being  used  by  the  Indians  as  a  vegetable  dye. 
They  call  it  Sawoyan,  and  after  boiling  the  roots  they  mix 
the  liquid  with  the  juice  of  strawberries  and  cranberries, 
and  thus  obtain  a  beautiful  scarlet  dye. 


PLATE  XX 


WHITE  HELIOTROPE 
( Valeriana  sitckensis) 

63 


PLATE  XXI 


WHITE  ASTER 

{Aster  commutatus) 

65 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  67 

SWEET-SCENTED   BEDSTRAW 

Galium  triflorum.    Madder  Family 

Stems:  ascending,  a  little  roughened,  shining.  Leaves:  in  sixes,  nar- 
rowly oval ;  peduncles  slender,  terminal,  and  axillary.  Flowers :  in  threes, 
or  on  three-branched  pedicels.  Fruit:  hispid,  with  hooked  hairs. 

The  flowers  of  this  species  of  Bedstraw  always  grow  in 
threes,  or  on  three-branched  stems,  as  might  be  inferred  from 
the  name  triflorum.  The  leaves  are  a  trifle  broader  than  those 
of  G.  boreale,  but  the  flowers  of  both  have  a  four-lobed  white 
corolla.  At  all  times,  but  especially  when  dried,  this  plant  has 
a  sweet  odour  resembling  that  of  vanilla.  Its  seeds  are  two- 
lobed  and  are  covered  with  tiny  hooked  hairs,  which  have 
earned  for  it  the  descriptive  name  of  "Cleaver,"  for  verily  its 
burs  cleave  fast  to  anything  with  which  they  come  in  contact. 

WILD   HELIOTROPE 

Valeriana  sylvatica.    Valerian  Family 

Stems :  erect  from  creeping  rootstocks.  Leaves :  basal,  oblong,  entire  ; 
stem-leaves  petioled,  three-to-seven  foliolate,  the  divisions  entire.  Flowers: 
cymose,  paniculate,  more  or  less  dimorphous ;  corolla  funnel-form,  five-lobed. 

So  sweet  is  the  smell  of  the  Wild  Heliotrope  that  few  can 
mistake  it.  The  flowers  are  very  handsome,  white  tinged 
with  mauve  or  pink,  and  grow  in  big  clusters  on  the  top  of 
juicy  stalks  from  eight  to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  in  two 
small  axillary  clusters  a  few  inches  below  the  terminal  cyme. 
The  foliage  of  this  plant  is  handsome,  the  leaves  being 
strongly  veined,  glossy,  and  of  a  beautiful  bright  green  colour. 

The  margins  of  these  leaves  are  entire, — that  is,  not  cut  or 
toothed, — and  herein  lies  the  difference  between  this  plant  and 
V.  sitchensis,  or  White  Heliotrope,  which  can  only  be  readily 
distinguished  from  it  by  the  fact  that  the  latter' s  leaves  are 
coarsely  dentate,  the  flowers  of  both  species  being  almost 
identical.  A  very  noticeable  feature  of  the  Heliotropes  is 
their  extremely  long  stamens. 


68  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

WHITE  ASTER 

Aster  commutatus.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  bushy,  branched.  Leaves:  rigid,  linear,  entire,  obtuse,  sessile, 
uppermost  passing  into  involucral  bracts.  Flowers:  in  densely  crowded 
heads. 

These  charming  little  Asters,  with  their  white  rays  and 
yellow  centres,  are  quite  unmistakable,  and  though  each  in- 
dividual flower  is  small,  yet  they  grow  in  such  large  densely- 
flowered  wands  that  they  present  a  very  handsome  appearance. 
The  stiff  narrow  leaves  grow  all  the  way  up  the  stalks  among 
the  blossoms.  The  flower  is  usually  found  in  very  dry  sandy 
places. 

A.  alpinus,  or  Alpine  Aster,  is  another  species  very  abundant 
in  the  mountains.  It  grows  at  great  altitudes  and  has  fluffy 
whitish  leaves  and  white  or  pale  pink  flowers. 

DAISY  FLEABANE 

Erigeron  compositus.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  short,  densely  leafy.  Leaves :  fan-shaped  in  outline,  parted  into 
linear  spatulate  lobes  on  long  petioles ;  herbage  hirsute  and  rather  vis- 
cidulous.  Flowers :  rays  forty  to  sixty,  white  ;  disk-flowers  yellow. 

This  Fleabane  is  very  like  a  large  common  daisy,  for  it  has 
many  white  rays  and  a  big  yellow  centre.  Most  of  its  leaves 
grow  out  from  the  base,  and  are  much  cut  and  quite  fern- 
like.  It  is  found  at  an  altitude  of  7000  feet,  and  especially 
along  the  edge  of  glacial  streams,  though  it  grows  also  on  the 
lower  alpine  meadows. 

The  most  conspicuous  difference  between  Asters  and  Flea- 
banes  is  that  the  latter  have  very  numerous  narrow  rays, 
while  the  rays  of  the  former  are  slightly  broader  and  much 
fewer  in  number. 


PLATE  XXII 


N 


PEARLY  EVERLASTING 

(Anaphalis  margaritacea) 

69 


PLATE  XXIII 


YARROW 

(Ackillea  lanulosa) 

71 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  73 

WHITE  EVERLASTING 

Antennaria  racemosa.    Composite  Family 

Freely  surculose  by  long,  slender,  sparsely-leafy  stolons,  lightly  woolly. 
Stems:  bearing  numerous  racemosely-disposed  heads.  Leaves:  broadly 
oval,  acute  at  each  end,  densely  tomentose  beneath,  green  and  glabrous 
above  ;  involucre  campanulate ;  bracts  green.  Flowers :  staminate  and 
pistillate  heads  white-tipped. 

Every  traveller  will  recognize  the  Everlastings  at  a  glance, 
with  their  dry,  crackling  little  flowers  and  partially,  if  not 
entirely,  silky  whitish  leaves  ;  the  only  difficulty  lies  in  decid- 
ing to  what  species  any  particular  plant  belongs. 

The  easiest  way  to  distinguish  the  White  Everlasting  is  by 
the  loose  separate  fashion  in  which  its  flower-heads  grow, 
just  a  few  on  each  little  stalk  and  none  of  them  bunched 
together  ;  whereas  the  A.  Howellii,  or  Mouse-ear  Everlasting, 
has  very  closely  clustered  flower-heads  and  much  more  silky 
leaves.  The  leaves  of  both  these  plants  are  woolly  and  white 
underneath  and  smooth  and  green  on  the  top.  The  fertile 
plants  are  taller  than  the  sterile  plants,  and  the  little  heads 
of  fertile  florets  are  set  in  green  cups,  their  snow-white  silky 
tufts  gleaming  in  the  sunshine,  while  the  staminate  florets 
have  rounder,  whiter  scales. 

A.  parvifolia,  or  Mountain  Everlasting,  has  leaves  that  are 
white  and  woolly  on  both  sides,  and  its  florets  are  perfectly 
round  in  shape. 

For  A.  parvifolia  var.  rosea  see  the  Pink  to  Red  Section. 

A.  lanata,  or  Alpine  Everlasting,  is  a  dwarf  species  growing 
close  to  perpetual  snow,  and  is  found  at  the  great  altitude  of 
8000  feet.  It  has  very  white  and  woolly  stalks  and  many  tiny 
leaves  that  are  white  and  woolly  also. 

This  plant  somewhat  resembles  the  Edelweiss  of  the  Alps, 
and  is  the  nearest  approach  to  that  famous  flower  to  be  found 
on  this  continent.  The  name  Antennaria  refers  to  the  long 
brown  anthers,  which  resemble  the  antennae  of  some  insect. 


74  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

PEARLY  EVERLASTING 

Anaphalis  margaritacea.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  floccose,  woolly,  corymbosely  branched  at  the  summit,  leafy. 
Leaves:  linear,  lanceolate,  green  pubescent  above,  woolly  below.  Flowers: 
in  numerous  heads  ;  involucre  campanulate,  its  bracts  ovate,  obtuse,  finely 
stricate. 

This  is  the  finest  of  all  the  Everlastings,  and  if  picked  and 
carefully  kept  in  a  vase,  will  remain  fresh  looking  for  months. 
Its  flowers  are  large,  slightly  sweet  scented,  and  pearly  white, 
and  are  often  used  for  funeral  wreaths  ;  as  if  to  say : 

"  They  are  love's  best  gift, 
Bring  flowers  —  pale  flowers." 

YARROW 

Ac  hi  lie  a  lanulosa.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  simple,  or  corymbosely  branched  above.  Leaves:  narrowly 
oblong,  bipinnately  dissected  into  numerous  small  linear  divisions. 
Flowers:  in  numerous  heads  crowded  in  a  fastigiate  cyme. 

A  plant,  or  rather  weed,  so  common  that  every  child  knows 
its  large  white  and  pinkish  flower-heads  and  recognizes  the 
disagreeable  pungent  odour  of  its  lace-like  leaves.  It  is  often 
called  "  Milfoil"  from  the  abundance  of  its  fringed  foliage. 

The  Yarrow  must  unquestionably  be  of  ancient  origin,  for 
it  derives  its  name  AcJiillea  from  Achilles,  who  is  supposed 
to  have  made  an  ointment  from  it  wherewith  to  heal  his 
wounded  warriors  after  the  siege  of  Troy. 

OX-EYE  DAISY 

Chrysanthemum  Leucanthemum.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  glabrous,  simple,  the  branches  nearly  erect.  Leaves:  obovate, 
oblong,  coarsely  dentate  ;  stem-leaves  sessile,  partly  clasping,  linear,  pin- 
nately  incised,  the  uppermost  very  small,  nearly  entire.  Flowers:  solitary, 
or  few,  on  long  peduncles  ;  rays  twenty  to  thirty.  Not  indigenous. 


PLATE  XXIV 


OX-EYE  DAISY 

( Ch rysanthem um  Leucanthem um) 

75 


PLATE  XXV 


WHITE  HEATH 
( Cassiope  Mertensiana) 

77 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  79 

How  many  poets  have  sung  the  praise  of  the  Daisy,  from 
Robert  Burns,  who  described  the  little  English  blossom  that 
grows  close  to  the  turf  as  a 

"  Wee,  modest,  crimson-tipped  flower," 

to  Bliss  Carman,  the  clever  Canadian  writer,  who  tells  how 

"  Over  the  shoulders  and  slopes  of  the  dune 

I  saw  the  white  daisies  go  down  to  the  sea  — 
A  host  in  the  sunshine,  a  snow-drift  in  June, 

The  people  God  sends  us  to  set  our  hearts  free," 

and  in  doing  so  describes  the  big  wild  Ox-eye  Daisies  that 
mantle  the  alpine  meadows  with  their  showy  white  petals  and 
golden  hearts 

PASTURE   WORMWOOD 

Artemisia  frigida.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  simple  or  branching,  silky-canescent  and  silvery  all  over,  herba- 
ceous from  a  suffrutescent  base.  Leaves:  twice  ternately  or  quinately 
divided  into  linear  crowded  lobes.  Flowers:  numerous  racemosely  dis- 
posed heads  in  an  open  panicle,  globular. 

All  the  Wormwoods  possess  a  very  strong  odour,  by  means 
of  which  they  may  be  easily  recognized.  This  species  has 
tiny  greenish-yellow  flowers  growing  profusely  on  its  leafy, 
silky  stems,  while  the  whole  plant  is  silvery  white  and  covered 
with  softest  down. 

A.  discolor,  or  Green  Wormwood,  has  green  foliage  and 
brownish-green  florets,  having  the  same  pungent  aromatic 
smell  as  the  silvery  species. 

A.  biennis,  or  Biennial  Wormwood,  has  also  green  foliage, 
and  its  numerous  greenish  florets  grow  in  clusters  in  the  axils, 
where  the  leaves  join  the  main  flower-stalk. 


80  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

PALM-LEAF  COLTSFOOT 

Petasites  palmata.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  scaly,  stout.  Leaves :  orbicular  in  outline,  deeply  seven-to-eleven 
cleft,  green  and  glabrous  above,  densely  white  tomentose  beneath. 
Flowers:  in  a  fastigiate  panicle. 

The  chief  distinction  between  the  different  species  of  Colts- 
foot lies  in  the  shape  of  their  respective  leaves.  Those  of  the 
Palm-leaf  Coltsfoot  are  exactly  like  a  large  palm  leaf,  while  its 
blossoms  are  white  and  very  fragrant.  The  flower-stalks  are 
thick  and  juicy  and  covered  with  small  narrow  leaves.  It  has 
silky -haired  seeds  like  a  dandelion. 

P.  sagittata,  or  Arrow-leaf  Coltsfoot,  has  huge  leaves  with 
two  very  marked  pointed  lobes  at  the  base.  Its  flower-heads 
grow  compactly  at  the  top  of  very  stout  stalks,  and  are  white 
and  fragrant. 

P.  frigida,  or  Arctic  Coltsfoot,  has  few  blossoms,  a  scaly 
stem,  and  very  irregularly  lobed  leaves.  The  foliage  of  all  the 
Coltsfoots  is  green  and  smooth  on  the  top,  and  white  and 
woolly  underneath.  They  are  coarse  uninteresting  plants. 

WHITE  THISTLE 

Cnicus  erioccphalus.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  loosely  arachnoid-woolly,  very  leafy.  Leaves:  pinnatifid  into 
numerous  crowded,  prickly,  short  lobes.  Flowers:  sessile  and  crowded  into 
a  leaf-subtended  nodding  glomerule. 

.  The  flowers  of  these  white  or  cream-coloured  Thistles  are 
surrounded  by  a  mass  of  narrow  prickly  leaves  and  are  large 
and  handsome. 

WHITE  HEATH 

Cassiope  Mertensiana.    Heath  Family 

Stems:  rather  stout,  rigid,  ascending  with  fastigiate  branches,  low- 
growing.  Leaves:  glabrous,  carinate,  and  not  furrowed  on  the  back, 
imbricated  in  four  ranks  ;  corolla  five-lobed. 


PLATE  XXVI 


81 


PLATE  XXVII 


GREEN-FLOWERED  WINTERGREEN  (Pyrola  chlorantha} 
RED  WINTERGREEN  (Pyrola  asarifolia) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  85 

The  beautiful  white  mountain  Heath  grows  abundantly  at 
high  altitudes  and  is  much  prized  by  travellers.  Its  branches 
appear  four-sided  by  reason  of  the  manner  in  which  the  tiny 
leaves  grow  on  them,  and  from  these  branches  slender  stalks 
are  sent  forth  bearing  at  their  tips  waxen  nodding  bells,  each 
composed  of  a  five-lobed  corolla  with  a  small  green  calyx. 

"  Meek  dwellers  mid  yon  terror-stricken  cliffs, 
With  brows  so  pure,  and  incense-breathing  lips, 
Whence  are  ye  ?     Did  some  white-winged  messenger, 
On  Mercy's  missions,  trust  your  timid  germ. 
To  the  cold  cradle  of  eternal  snows ; 
Or,  breathing  on  the  callous  icicles, 
Bid  them  with  tear-drops  nurse  ye  ?  " 

WHITE  FALSE  HEATHER 

Bryanthus  glanduliflorus .    Heath  Family 

Stems:  rigid,  fastigiately  branched.  Leaves:  numerous,  crowded,  but 
somewhat  spreading,  linear-oblong,  obtuse,  narrowed  at  the  base  to  a 
short  petiole.  Flowers  :  corolla  short-lobed,  glabrous. 

The  flowers  of  the  White  Heather  are  like  little  fat  cream- 
coloured  bulbs,  with  a  tiny  opening  that  is  lobed.  Its  leaves 
are  longer  and  more  spreading  than  those  of  the  Heath,  near 
which  it  usually  grows. 

GREEN-FLOWERED  WINTERGREEN 

Pyrola  chlorantha.    Heath  Family 

Stems:  three-to-ten  flowered.  Leaves:  small,  orbicular,  coriaceous,  not 
shining.  Flowers :  nodding ;  calyx-lobes  short,  ovate,  acute ;  petals  very 
obtuse  ;  stamens  declined ;  anthers  distinctly  contracted  below  the  open- 
ings, with  beaked  tips ;  style  declined,  and  curved  upwards  towards  the 
apex,  longer  than  the  petals. 

This  Lily-of-the-Valley-like  plant  is  found  in  the  dry  woods 
among  the  moss,  and  always  in  the  shade.  On  a  tall,  slender, 
single-bracted  stalk  grow  numerous  little  nodding  greenish- 
white  bells,  five-lobed,  with  yellow-brown  stamens  and  a  long, 


86  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

protruding,  green  style  that  is  curved  upwards  at  the  apex  and 
tipped  by  a  large  five-parted  stigma.  The  leaves,  round  and 
small,  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  base  of  the  plant,  which  springs 
from  running  roots.  It  has  a  slight  sweet  odour,  and,  in  com- 
mon with  all  the  Pyrolas,  is  an  evergreen. 

In  the  accompanying  illustration,  Plate  XXVII,  this  Green- 
flowered  Wintergreen  is  shown,  together  with  P.  asarifolia, 
or  Red  Wintergreen,  a  description  of  which  is  given  in  the 
Pink  to  Red  Section. 


ONE-SIDED  WINTERGREEN 

Pyrola  secunda.    Heath  Family 

Stems:  caulescent  from  a  branching  base.  Leaves:  ovate,  mostly  thin, 
acute,  narrowed  at  the  base,  crenulate,  serrate.  Flowers:  numerous,  in  a 
dense,  secund,  drooping  raceme ;  petals  greenish ;  stamens  unequally 
connivent  around  the  pistil ;  style  straight  and  longer  than  the  petals. 

In  the  young  plant  the  stem  of  the  One-sided  Wintergreen 
will  be  found  erect,  but  as  the  days  pass  and  the  little  buds 
open,  the  weight  of  the  secund  raceme  bends  it  over  until  it 
droops  gracefully  downwards.  The  flowers,  which  all  grow  on 
one  side  of  the  stem,  are  greenish-white  in  hue,  and  the  long 
style  protrudes  far  beyond  the  petals.  The  leaves  grow  at  the 
base  of  the  plant  and  are  oval,  their  margins  being  serrated; 
they  extend  a  short  way  up  the  stem,  which  is  frequently 
bract ed  above. 

SMALL  WINTERGREEN 

Pyrola  minor.    Heath  Family 

Stems:  seven-to-sixteen  flowered.  Leaves:  orbicular  to  oval,  crenulate, 
mucronate  at  the  apex,  rounded  subcordate  at  the  base.  Flowers:  race- 
mose, nodding  ;  calyx-lobes  triangular,  ovate  ;  style  straight,  short. 

A  smaller,  more  delicate  species  of  Wintergreen,  found  prin- 
cipally near  running  water,  and  which  has  whiter  bells  than 


PLATE  XXVIII 


r 


ONE-SIDED  WINTERGREEN 

(Pyrola  secunda) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  89 

either  of  the  two  preceding  forms.  It  may  always  be  dis- 
tinguished from  other  Pyrolas,  even  in  bud,  by  the  fact  that  it 
has  a  short  style,  which  does  not  protrude  beyond  the  petals 
of  the  gobular  blossoms.  A  slight  fragrant  scent  emanates 
from  its  waxen  bells. 


ONE-FLOWERED  WINTERGREEN 

Moneses  uniflora.    Heath  Family 

Stems :  bearing  three  whorls  of  leaves  at  the  base,  continued  above  into 
a  bracted  scape.  Leaves:  orbicular,  petioled,  serrulate.  Flowers:  solitary, 
drooping ;  petals  five,  widely  spreading,  sessile ;  style  straight ;  stigma 
peltate,  large,  conspicuous,  with  five  narrow  lobes. 

Dr.  Gray  has  called  this  fragrant  flower  a  "  single  delight," 
and  certainly  it  is  a  joy  to  the  traveller  to  find  its  solitary  droop- 
ing blossoms  bent  close  down  upon  the  soft  green  carpet  of  the 
July  woods.  In  the  deep  shade  of  the  conifers  beds  of  these 
exquisite  waxen  Wintergreens  grow  in  profusion,  each  flower 
hanging  its  head  and  resembling  a  shining  star.  Turn  its  face 
upwards,  however,  and  you  will  find  its  white  petals  have  ten 
yellow-tipped  stamens  placed  at  their  base,  and  that  the  style, 
which  is  very  large  and  long,  projecting  from  a  conspicuous 
round  green  ovary,  is  crowned  by  a  five-lobed  stigma.  The 
leaves  are  set  in  three  circles  on  the  stem,  close  to  the  ground, 
and  are  dark  green,  smooth-surfaced,  and  have  serrated  margins. 

The  One-flowered  Wintergreen  is  a  dweller  in  the  darkest 
corners  of  the  woods,  where 

"  That  delicate  forest  flower, 
With  scented  breath,  and  look  so  like  a  smile, 
Seems,  as  it  issues  from  the  shapeless  mould, 
An  emanation  from  the  indwelling  life." 


90  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

SWEET  ANDROSACE 

Androsace  Ckamcejasme.    Primrose  Family 

Stems :  slender.  Leaves :  in  more  or  less  open  rosulate  tufts,  one-nerved, 
ovate.  Flowers:  in  capitate  umbels. 

The  sweet  smell  of  these  delicate  little  clustered  blossoms, 
that  grow  from  one  to  three  inches  above  the  soil  and  fill  the 
air  with  fragrance,  is  most  attractive.  Their  primrose-like  petals, 
of  creamy  or  pinkish  hue,  look  up  with  yellow  eyes  to  greet 
each  passer-by,  while  rosulate  tufts  of  tiny  narrow  leaves  are 
set  about  the  slender  stems. 

ALPINE  ANDROSACE 

Androsace  septentrionalis.    Primrose  Family 

Stems :  slender,  many-flowered.  Leaves :  rosulate,  lanceolate.  Flowers : 
calyx-tube  obpyramidal,  with  subulate,  acute,  green  lobes;  corolla-lobe 
obovate,  longer  than  the  calyx. 

A  very  different  species  from  the  foregoing  one,  having 
much  branched,  thread-like  stems,  bearing  numerous  tiny 
white  flowers. 

STAR-FLOWER 

Trientalis  Americana.    Primrose  Family 

Roots tock  creeping,  sending  up  many  stem-like  branches,  which  are 
naked  below,  the  leaves  all  in  a  verticil  of  five  to  ten  at  the  summit. 
Leaves :  membranous,  lanceolate,  acuminate  at  both  ends,  sessile.  Flowers : 
solitary  or  few;  calyx  usually  of  seven  sepals;  corolla  wheel-shaped,  of 
seven  petal-like  segments. 

The  pretty  blossoms  of  this  Star-flower  are  generally  white, 
though  sometimes  tinged  with  mauvish-pink,  and  so  grace- 
fully are  they  poised  on  slender  stalks  above  a  whorl  of 
pointed  leaves  that  every  puff  of  wind  blows  them  gently  to 
and  fro.  The  number  seven  recurs  with  marked  frequency  in 
this  particular  plant, — the  calyx  is  seven-parted,  the  corolla 


PLATE  XXIX 


PLATE  XXX 


93 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  95 

segments  are  seven,  and  the  stamens  seven,  while  the  leaves 
of  the  whorl  also  are  usually  seven  in  number,  some  being 
large  and  some  small. 

Bryant  writes  of  the  alpine  meadows, 

"  Where  star-flowers  strew  the  rivulet's  side," 

but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  generally  in  the  shady  woods, 
near  the  foot  of  some  large  forest  tree,  that  these  dainty  little 
flowers  are  found 

BUCKBEAN 

Menyanthes  trifoliata.    Gentian  Family 

Rootstock  thick,  scaly,  marked  by  the  scars  of  bases  of  former  petioles. 
Leaves:  trifoliate,  leaflets  oblong,  entire,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  narrowed  to 
the  sessile  base.  Flowers:  in  a  raceme  borne  on  a  long,  scape-like,  naked 
peduncle;  calyx  short;  corolla  funnel-form,  five-cleft,  its  lobes  bearded 
within. 

This  is  a  perennial  swamp  herb  whose  lovely  white  flowers 
and  triple  leaves  are  the  glory  of  many  a  secluded  mountain 
marsh.  The  face  of  the  five  white  or  purplish-pink  divisions 
of  the  corolla  are  covered  with  soft  hairs,  which  give  the 
flowers  a  dainty  feathery  appearance,  and  inside  the  tube  are 
placed  the  five  stamens,  while  the  style  is  long  and  projects 
beyond  them. 

ROMANZOFFIA 

Romanzoffia  sitchensis.    Water-leaf  Family 

Stems:  slender,  scape-like,  ascending  or  spreading.  Leaves:  round-reni- 
form,  three-to-seven  lobed  on  slender  petioles.  Flowers:  in  a  loose  ter- 
minal raceme  ;  corolla  funnel-form,  the  broad  lobes  rounded. 

One  of  the  most  exquisite  fragrant  alpine  plants,  that  grows 

"  Where  the  sunlight  fills  the  hours, 
Dissolves  the  crust,  displays  the  flowers." 

At  high  altitudes,  when  the  warmth  of  July  has  melted 
the  snow  and  set  the  flowers  free,  you  will  find  the  creamy 


96  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

blossoms  of  this  Romanzoffia  in  many  a  nook  amongst  the 
forbidding  rocks,  its  corollas  gleaming  like  shimmering  pearls 
in  the  green  setting  of  their  round  scalloped  leaves.  The  tex- 
ture of  these  flowers  is  simply  marvellous,  for  they  have  a 
bloom  upon  them  so  beautiful  that  it  resembles  nothing  less 
than  richest  white  velvet,  while  in  their  centres  a  few  pale 
yellow  stamens  give  to  each  blossom  a  heart  of  gold. 

Romanzoffia  is  seldom  found  below  an  altitude  of  6000  feet, 
and  where  the  cliffs  rise  bleak  and  barren,  where  the  ways  are 
ice  bound  and  the  rocks  are  bare,  there  it  is  a  joy  to  find  this 
lovely  plant  snugly  ensconced  in  some  tiny  cleft  that  is  watered 
by  the  melting  snows.  Only  those  who  have  toiled  and  climbed 
in  search  of  it  can  know  the  full  delight  of  its  discovery. 

WHITE  LOUSEWORT 

Pedicularis  racemosa.    Figwort  Family 

Stems :  glabrous,  leafy  to  the  top.  Leaves :  all  cauline,  lanceolate,  un- 
divided, finely  serrulate.  Flowers:  few,  in  short  leafy  racemes;  calyx 
oblique,  deeper  cleft  before  than  behind,  the  lobes  abruptly  acuminate ; 
galea  produced  into  an  incurved  beak,  nearly  as  long  as  the  broad  lower 
lip,  hamate-deflexed. 

The  dull  white  or  very  pale  yellow  beaked  flowers  of  the 
White  Lousewort  are  set  in  a  close  cluster  at  the  top  of  the 
stalks,  and  are  embedded  amongst  small  deeply-fringed  leaves. 

The  repellent  common  name  of  this  plant  is  derived  directly 
from  the  Latin  one,  which  was  bestowed  upon  it  because  once 
upon  a  time  farmers  believed  that  when  their  flocks  fed  upon 
these  flowers  the  sheep  were  liable  to  be  attacked  by  certain 
tiny  lice,  called  pediculus. 

Four  species  of  Lousewort  grow  in  the  mountain  regions, 
two  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Pink  to  Red  Section  of 
this  book,  while  a  fourth  one  is  Pedicularis  contorta,  or  Con- 
torted Lousewort,  a  plant  very  like  P.  racemosa,  but  having 
its  cream-coloured  flowers  set  singly  all  the  way  up  on  the 


PLATE  XXXI 


CONTORTED  LOUSEWORT 

(Pedicularis  contorta) 

97 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  99 

slender  stalks.  Its  foliage  is  fern-like  and  often  tinged  with 
reddish-brown  ;  long  leaves  grow  out  from  the  base,  and  small 
ones  are  interspersed  with  the  numerous  blossoms  on  the  stems. 
The  Contorted  Lousewort  grows  at  very  high  altitudes, 
being  usually  found  at  7000  feet. 


COMMON  PLANTAIN 

Plantago  major.     Plantain  Family 

Rootstock  short,  thick,  erect.  Leaves:  spreading,  ovate,  entire;  spike 
dense,  obtuse  at  apex.  Flowers:  perfect,  proterogynous ;  sepals  broadly 
ovate,  scarious  on  the  margins.  Fruit :  pyxis  seeded,  circumsessile  near 
the  middle. 

The  Common  Plantain  is  so  familiar  to  travellers  that  it 
calls  for  no  special  description.  It  has  greenish  flower-spikes 
and  reddish  seeds. 

P.  Rugelii,  or  Pale  Plantain,  is  somewhat  similar  to  the 
preceding  species,  but  has  a  slightly  broader  leaf  and  a  less 
dense  flower-spike. 

LAMB'S  QUARTERS 

Chenopodium  album.    Goosefoot  Family 

Stems:  slender,  erect,  commonly  much  branched.  Leaves:  rhombic- 
ovate,  the  upper  ones  lanceolate,  obtuse  or  acute.  Flowers:  bractless, 
densely  clustered  in  a  compound  panicled  spike ;  calyx  segments  strongly 
keeled.  Fruit :  seed  firmly  attached  to  the  pericarp. 

A  weed  that  abounds  near  habitation,  even  in  the  mountain 
regions.  A  commonplace  plant,  and  yet  one  that  is  not 
altogether  without  beauty,  since  its  foliage  is  of  an  unusually 
delicate  tender  green.  The  white  flowers,  which  grow  in 
dense  spikes,  are  inconspicuous. 


100  WHITE  TO   GREEN 

TALL    ERIOGONUM 

Eriogonum  umbellatum.    Buckwheat  Family 

Stems :  depressed  and  shrubby  below,  much  branched.  Leaves :  oblong, 
white  tomentose  below,  green  and  glabrous  above ;  peduncles  six  to  fif- 
teen inches  high,  naked,  bearing  a  simple  umbel  of  three  to  ten  rays,  sub- 
tended by  a  whorl  of  leaves. 

A  somewhat  rare  and  most  curious  plant.  In  dry  stony 
places  and  on  rocky  slopes  you  will  find  the  long-stalked 
blossoms  of  the  Tall  Eriogonum,  with  its  handsome  flat-topped 
clusters  of  cream-coloured  flowers,  tipped  and  tinged  with 
vivid  rose  pink,  that  have  a  peculiar  bunch  of  tiny  narrow 
leaves  set  just  where  the  little  stems  of  the  individual  flower- 
umbels  spring  from  the  top  of  the  main  stalk. 

It  is  also  a  most  fascinating  plant,  both  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  its  fine  cream  and  rose  blossoms  grow  in  barren 
localities,  and  also  because  its  leaves  (which  are  green  above 
and  silvery  beneath)  grow  near  to  the  ground,  on  slender, 
branching,  woody  stems,  while  the  flower-stalks  are  extremely 
long,  often  reaching  a  height  of  over  twelve  inches. 

E.  androsaceum,  or  Dwarf  Eriogonum,  is  the  alpine  species, 
and  almost  an  exact  reproduction  in  miniature  of  its  "  Tall " 
relation.  The  chief  difference  between  the  two  plants  is  that 
the  Dwarf  Eriogonum  is  more  hairy  and  woolly,  and  generally 
has  cream-coloured  flowers  without  any  tingeing  of  pink.  It 
only  grows  about  three  inches  high,  and  is  found  at  7500  feet. 

ALPINE   BISTORT 

Polygonum  inviparuni.    Buckwheat  Family 

Stems:  slender,  simple.  Leaves:  ovate,  subcordate,  attenuate  at  base; 
cauline  leaves  lanceolate.  Flowers:  raceme  narrowly  cylindric,  densely 
flowered,  bearing  a  number  of  ovoid-conic  bulblets  at  base. 

The  name  Polygonum  comes  from  the  Greek,  its  meaning 
being  "  many  kneed,"  and  refers  to  the  enlarged  joints  of  the 


PLATE  XXXII 


ALPINE  BISTORT  (Polygonwn  viviparturi) 
ASPHODEL   ( Tofieldia  glutinosd) 


101 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  103 

stems,  which  are  sheathed  by  the  stalks  of  the  long-shaped 
leaves.  The  flowers  are  very  numerous  in  the  mountains,  are 
white  to  rose  colour,  and  grow  in  dense  narrow  spikes,  which 
have  several  little  bulbs  below  the  full-blown  blossoms.  The 
seeds  are  red.  See  Plate  XXXII. 

A  description  of  Polygonum  amphibitim,  or  Water  Persi- 
caria,  will  be  found  in  the  Miscellaneous  Section. 

WHITE    COMANDRA 

Comandra  pallida.    Sandalwood  Family 

Stems:  glaucous,  slender,  simple,  very  leafy.  Leaves:  linear,  acute, 
sessile.  Flowers:  cymes  several-flowered,  corymbose,  clustered  at  the 
summit,  peduncles  short. 

The  Comandra  is  parasitic  on  the  roots  of  other  plants.  It 
has  pretty  little  whitish-green  flowers,  which  grow  in  clusters 
and  are  bulb-shaped  at  the  base,  spreading  out  into  five  lobes 
at  the  top.  The  leaves  are  very  narrow  and  grow  close  to 
and  all  the  way  up  the  stalk,  and  the  fruit  is  a  nut-like  berry, 
which  retains  at  its  tip  the  upper  short  part  of  the  calyx. 

C.  livida,  or  Swamp  Comandra,  differs  from  the  foregoing 
species  in  that  it  has  wider  leaves,  each  one  growing  on  its 
own  tiny  stalk  attached  to  the  main  stem ;  and  whereas  the 
flowers  of  the  White  Comandra  grow  in  clusters  at  the  top 
of  the  stems,  those  of  the  Swamp  Comandra  grow  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves  lower  down  on  the  stems,  and  its  fruit  is 
a  roundish  red  and  edible  berry. 

CORAL-ROOT 

Corallorhiza  innata.    Orchid  Family 

Root  coralloid,  branching.  Stems:  glabrous,  clothed  with  closely 
sheathing  scales.  Flowers:  in  long  racemes  on  short  minutely  bracted 
pedicels;  sepals  and  petals  narrow,  lip  short;  spur  a  sac  adnate  to  the 
summit  of  the  ovary.  Fruit :  capsule  oblong. 


104  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

A  plant  impossible  to  mistake,  for  its  roots  are  exactly  like 
branches  of  coral,  composed  of  thick,  white,  blunt  fibres,  and 
may  be  found  in  moist  shady  places.  The  flowers  grow  in  a 
raceme  on  single,  thick,  fleshy  stems,  that  are  clothed  with 
closely  sheathed  bracts  and  are  of  a  queer  purplish-green 
colour,  frequently  marked  with  white.  It  has  no  leaves. 

The  Coral-root  is  a  saprophyte  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  lives  upon 
the  dead  and  decomposing  forms  of  other  plants,  and  this 
explains  why  it  is  such  a  vegetable  degenerate  of  the  beau- 
tiful family  of  orchids.  It  has  lost  its  leaves,  also  its  chlo- 
rophyll, or  honest  green  colouring  matter,  through  its  bad 
habits,  and  to-day  belongs  to  that  pirate  tribe  which  feeds 
upon  food  already  assimilated  by  another,  and  thereby  incurs 
the  displeasure  of  Nature,  whose  laws  demand  honest  conduct 
in  her  kingdom  as  sternly  as  do  those  of  man ;  and  so,  when 
the  Coral-root  refused  to  manufacture  its  own  upbuilding 
materials  out  of  the  carbon  dioxide  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
proceeded  to  prey  upon  decaying  matter,  Nature  took  away 
its  leaves  and  chlorophyll  and  only  left  it  sufficient  branching 
extensions  at  the  base  to  secure  it  in  the  soil. 


HEART-LEAFED   TWAYBLADE 

Listera  cordata.    Orchid  Family 

Root  fleshy-fibrous.  Stems:  very  slender.  Leaves:  sessile,  cordate, 
ovate,  mucronate.  Flowers:  in  racemes,  minute  pedicels  bracted ;  sepals 
and  petals  oblong-linear,  lip  narrow,  the  segments  setaceous  and  ciliolate. 

A  small  orchid  with  two  large  leaves  growing  midway  up 
its  slender  stem,  by  which  it  may  always  be  readily  recognized. 
The  flowers  are  purplish-green,  very  tiny,  and  are  set  in  a  small 
raceme  at  the  top  of  the  stalk.  It  grows  in  the  cool  woods. 

L.  convallarioides,  or  Broad-lipped  Twayblade,  also  has 
the  same  two  distinguishing  stem-leaves,  which,  however,  are 
rounder  than  in  the  foregoing  species,  while  its  flowers  are 


PLATE  XXXIII 


LADIES'  TRESSES 
(Spiranthes  Romanzoffiana) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS 


107 


yellowish-green,  fairly  large,  and  possess  a  broad  lip  with  two 
lobes  at  the  delicate  apex. 

The  Twayblades  present  a  strong  contrast  to  the  Coral- 
root.  They  are  conspicuously  green  and  healthy  of  leaf. 

LADIES'   TRESSES 

Spiranthes  Roinanzojfiana.    Orchid  Family 

Root  tuberous.  Stems :  glabrous,  leafy  below,  bracted  above.  Leaves : 
oblong-lanceolate.  Flowers:  spike  dense,  in  three  rows,  conspicuously 
bracted  ;  perianth  white,  the  petals  and  sepals  all  connivent,  lip  recurved, 
ovate-oblong,  contracted  below  the  narrower  wavy-crenulate  summit. 

This  is  the  last  orchid  of  the  season,  found  chiefly  in  wet 
marshy  places,  just  when  the  power  of  the  summer  sun  begins 
to  wane.  It  is  a  beautiful  fragrant  flower,  growing  in  dense 
snowy  spikes,  and  has  long  narrow  leaves.  Considering  that 
orchids  are  reckoned  as  amongst  the  rarest  and  richest  treas- 
ures of  Nature,  it  is  strange  how  many  species  of  them  grow 
wild  in  the  mountains.  Of  course  they  are  all  terrestrial  ones  ; 
we  have  none  of  the  kinds  which  grow  on  trees  and  develop 
false  bulbs. 

RATTLESNAKE  PLANTAIN 

Goodyera  Menziesii.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  scape  glandular  pubescent.  Leaves:  blotched  with  white,  ovate. 
Flowers :  galea  concave,  ovate,  with  a  short,  spreading,  recurved  tip ; 
anther  ovate,  pointed  on  the  base  of  the  stigma  into  a  gland-bearing  awl- 
shaped  beak. 

This  plant  has  a  cluster  of  leaves  at  the  base  only;  these 
are  covered  with  a  network  of  white  veins  and  frequently  also 
have  white  blotches  on  them.  The  flowers  grow  in  a  bracted 
spike,  are  greenish-white,  and  have  a  very  hairy  stalk. 

Goodyera  repens,  or  Small  Rattlesnake  Plantain,  has  also 
peculiar  white-veined  leaves,  but  in  this  species  they  grow  up 
the  stalk  as  well  as  at  its  base.  The  whole  plant  is  smaller 
than  G.  Mcnziesii,  and  its  insignificant  flowers  grow  only  on 


108  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

one  side  of  the  stem,  which  is  much  bracted  and  hairy.  The 
name  "  Rattlesnake  "  applies  to  the  resemblance  between  the 
curiously  veined  leaves  and  the  body  of  a  snake.  This  plant 
frequently  grows  in  decaying  wood. 

LONG-BRACTED   ORCHIS 

Habenaria  bracteata.    Orchid  Family 

Stems :  stout.  Leaves :  lanceolate,  obtuse,  the  upper  ones  much  smaller, 
the  bracts  two  or  three  times  longer  than  the  ovaries.  Flowers :  green,  the 
spike  loosely  flowered  ;  petals  very  narrow  ;  sepals  ovate-lanceolate,  dilated 
at  the  base ;  lip  oblong-spatulate,  three-toothed  at  the  apex,  and  more 
than  twice  as  long  as  the  sac-like  spur. 

This  is  one  of  the  conspicuous  green  orchids  which  grow  in 
great  profusion  in  the  mountain  regions.  It  has  a  stout  juicy 
stem,  broad  leaves,  and  many  long  pointed  bracts  on  its  flower- 
spike.  Usually  found  in  wet  places,  this  Orchis  may  always  be 
distinguished  by  the  long  bracts,  from  which  it  derives  its  name. 

SMALL  ORCHIS 

Habenaria  obtusata.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  slender,  naked,  four-angled.  Leaves:  leaf  solitary,  basal,  obovate. 
Flowers :  spike  long,  loosely  flowered,  green ;  petals  short,  dilated,  con- 
nate with  the  base  of  the  column ;  sepals  upper  one  erect,  green  with 
white  margins ;  lip  entire,  lanceolate,  deflexed  ;  spur  as  long  as  the  lip, 
blunt ;  anther-sacs  widely  divergent ;  glands  small  and  thick. 

A  delicate  green  and  white  Orchis  that  may  always  be 
known  by  its  single  basal  leaf.  It  is  very  like  a  white  and 
green  Lily-of-the-Valley,  and  its  flowers  grow  widely  separated 
on  the  slender  stalks.  • 

LEAFY  ORCHIS 

Habenaria  hyperborea.    Orchid  Family 

Stems :  stout.  Leaves :  lanceolate,  acute.  Flowers :  small,  green  ;  spike 
narrow,  petals  and  sepals  ovate,  obtuse,  upper  sepal  crenulate  at  the 
apex ;  lip  lanceolate,  entire,  obtuse  ;  spur  equalling  the  lip,  glands  small. 


PLATE  XXXIV 


LEAFY  ORCHIS  (Habenaria  hyperbored) 

SMALL  ORCHIS  (Habenaria  obtusata) 

109 


PLATE  XXXV 


WHITE  BOG  ORCHIS 

{Habenaria  dilatata) 


ill 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  113 

This  green  Orchis  somewhat  resembles  H.  obtusata,  but 
may  easily  be  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  it  has  several 
leaves  growing  up  on  and  clasping  its  stem,  which  is  also 
decidedly  stouter  than  the  stem  of  the  preceding  species. 
The  Leafy  Orchis  grows  in  the  open  woods,  preferring  a 
moist  spot.  It  has  many  flowers  on  each  stalk,  and  they 
grow  closely  set  together. 

WHITE   BOG  ORCHIS 

Habenaria  dilatata.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  thick,  fleshy,  one  to  two  feet  high.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  obtuse. 
Flowers :  spike  long,  white,  very  fragrant,  bracted ;  sepals  ovate,  obtuse  ; 
lip  entire,  dilated;  anther-sacs  parallel;  glands  close  together;  stigma 
with  a  trowel-shaped  beak. 

To  walk  through  the  woods,  deep  and  dark,  where  the 
trees  and  shrubs  grow  densely  side  by  side  and  flowers  are 
few  and  far  between ;  and  then  to  suddenly  emerge  into  the 
open,  where  the  sun's  light  is  flooding  across  the  marsh-lands, 
carpeted  by  myriads  of  tall  White  Bog  Orchis,  is  a  pleasure 
so  dazzling  that,  once  experienced,  it  will  never  be  forgotten. 
Fragrant  as  hyacinths,  these  exquisite  snowy  orchids  grow 
to  a  great  height  in  the  mountain  marshes,  and  so  beautiful 
and  wonderfully  delicate  are  their  blossoms  that  travellers  long 
to  transplant  them  to  some  lowland  garden,  in  order  to  see  their 
velvety  spikes  grow  and  grace  civilization  with  a  woodland 
loveliness.  But  as  a  rule  this  experiment  is  tried  in  vain,  for 
few  of  the  orchids  will  flourish  so  far  from  their  native  soil. 

Words  fail  to  truly  describe  these  plants  of  almost  unearthly 
beauty.  From  their  dainty  petals 

"  Odours  ascend, 

Spreading  themselves  through  the  serener  air 
Where  gentle  breezes  strive  to  bless, 
And  all  God's  world  knows  happiness." 

Those  who  find  them  will  always  love  and  treasure  them. 


II4  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

There  is  another  very  large  species  of  the  same  genus,  much 
resembling  H.  dilatata,  but  taller,  and  sometimes  growing  to 
the  immense  height  of  five  feet.  It  is  called  H.  leucostachys, 
or  Giant  Orchis,  and,  like  the  Bog  Orchis,  has  snow-white 
fragrant  flowers. 

MOUNTAIN  LADY'S  SLIPPER 

Cypripedium  passerinum.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  stout,  leafy.  Leaves:  ovate,  acuminate.  Flowers:  solitary  or  two ; 
petals  and  sepals  pale  green ;  lip  dull  white,  veined,  and  with  bright  red 
spots ;  anther  ovate-triangulate,  yellow  with  red  spots.  Fruit :  capsule 
drooping. 

This  is  the  small  white  Lady's  Slipper,  and  its  discovery  in 
the  mountains  is  of  sufficiently  rare  occurrence  to  be  quite  an 
event  in  the  history  of  the  day  to  the  ordinary  traveller.  It  is 
usually  in  shady  places,  where  the  soil  is  moist  and  rich,  that 
these  little  velvety  orchids  are  found.  The  dull  white  sacs, 
hairy  inside  and  spotted  with  bright  red,  are  quite  unmistak- 
able ;  the  stalks  are  leafy  and  usually  bear  only  a  single  ter- 
minal flower,  though  occasionally  two  shell-like  blooms  adorn 
the  fat  juicy  stem,  one  at  its  apex  and  the  other  a  couple  of 
inches  lower  down. 

There  is  a  rich  tropical  beauty  about  orchids  strongly  sug- 
gestive of  the  Orient.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  at  home  in  the 
stern  wild  mountain  fastnesses,  but  rather  to  belong  to  a  world 
of  cloudless  skies  and  riotous  foliage,  where  exotic  flowers  are 
set  like  jewels  in  the  lavish  luxuriance  of  the  clement  zone. 

WHITE  TWISTED-STALK 

Streptopus  ample  xifoliiis.    Lily  Family 

Rootstock  short,  stout,  horizontal,  covered  with  thick  fibrous  roots. 
Stems:  glabrous,  branching  below  the  middle.  Leaves:  acuminate  at  the 
apex,  cordate-clasping  at  the  base,  glaucous  beneath.  Flowers:  one  to 
two,  greenish- white.  Fruit:  red  oval  berry,  many-seeded. 


PLATE  XXXVI 


WHITE  TWISTED-STALK 
(Streptopus  amplexifolitis) 


PLATE  XXXVII 


SPIKENARD 
(Smilacina 

"7 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  119 

This  Twisted-stalk  is  a  large  plant  with  many  clasping, 
pointed  leaves  growing  all  the  way  up  on  both  sides  of  its  long 
branching  stems,  with  one  solitary  leaf  at  the  apex.  These 
leaves  are  handsome,  green  and  glossy  on  the  top,  with  strongly 
marked  veins,  and  are  covered  with  a  whitish  bloom  on  the 
under  side.  Looking  at  the  plant  from  above  it  appears  to 
bear  no  flowers  at  all,  but  turn  over  its  stems  and  you  will 
find  beneath  each  leaf  one  or  two  tiny  greenish -white  bells, 
hanging  on  sharply  bent  thread-like  stalks  that  spring  from 
the  axils  of  the  leaves  ;  these  flowers  in  time  turn  into  bright 
red  oval  berries. 

The  name  Twisted-stalk  is  derived  from  its  abruptly  bent 
flower  stems. 

For  S.  roseus,  S.  brevipes,  and  5.  curvipes  see  the  Pink  to 
Red  Section. 

SPIKENARD 

Smilacina  stellata.    Lily  Family 

Stems:  stout,  erect,  or  somewhat  zigzag.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  sessile, 
somewhat  clasping,  acute,  acuminate  at  the  apex,  rather  concave.  Flowers : 
raceme  sessile  or  short-peduncled,  several-flowered.  Fruit:  bright  red 
berry  dotted  with  purple. 

Large  colonies  of  this  pretty  Spikenard,  which  to  ordinary 
eyes  looks  like  a  wild  Lily-of-the-Valley,  grow  near  the  banks 
of  mountain  streams  and  in  the  moist  meadows.  It  is  a  lovely 
plant  that  grows  up  very  stiff  and  straight  out  of  the  ground, 
and  has  stout  stems  which  are  leafy  all  the  way  from  the  base 
to  the  slender  flower  racemes.  These  racemes  are  composed  of 
from  five  to  fifteen  little  starry  blossoms,  each  one  having  a 
white  six-parted  perianth.  The  leaves  are  of  a  whitish-green 
hue. 


120  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

FALSE  SOLOMON'S  SEAL 

Smilacina  amplexicaulis.    Lily  Family 

Stems :  stout,  ascending,  leafy.  Leaves :  oval,  clasping,  acuminate,  their 
margins  minutely  ciliate.  Flowers:  panicle  densely  flowered;  perianth- 
segments  oblong.  Fruit:  red  aromatic  berry,  flecked  with  purple. 

The  long  leafy  wands  of  the  False  Solomon's  Seal  are  exceed- 
ingly attractive,  with  their  handsome  terminal  clusters  of  little 
creamy  blossoms  that  look  like  full  feathery  plumes  as  they 
wave  gently  to  and  fro  in  the  soft  summer  breeze  and  cast 
their  faint  fragrance  across  the  woods.  Very  handsome,  too, 
are  the  leaves  of  this  large  plant.  Why  it  is  banned  with  such 
a  base  name  as  False  Solomon's  Seal  I  do  not  know.  There 
is  nothing  "false"  about  it  except  its  name;  and  while  its 
luxuriant  broad  foliage  resembles  that  of  both  the  True  Solo- 
mon's Seal  and  the  Twisted-stalk,  still  its  flowers  are  entirely 
different,  growing  in  close  terminal  panicles,  whereas  those 
of  the  other  plants  mentioned  grow  in  small  individual  bells 
from  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  However,  False  Solomon's  Seal 
is  its  name,  and  by  such  it  is  known  all  over  the  world. 


QUEEN-CUP 

Clintonia  uniftora.    Lily  Family 

Stems:  villous-pubescent.  Leaves:  few,  lanceolate,  acute,  attenuate 
below  to  a  sheathing  petiole.  Flowers :  solitary ;  peduncle  scape-like, 
shorter  than  the  leaves ;  perianth  campanulate,  of  six  segments,  white ; 
style  equalling  the  stamens.  Fruit:  blue  berry. 

An  exquisite  six-parted  white  flower  with  a  heart  of  gold, 
found  growing  in  the  shady  woods.  Its  leaves  fairly  carpet  the 
ground  in  the  localities  where  it  abounds ;  they  are  large  and 
glossy  and  resemble  those  of  the  Lily-of-the-Valley.  The  stems, 
which  usually  bear  only  a  single  flower,  are  very  hairy.  Tho- 
reau  has  complained  bitterly  that  this  beautiful  dweller  of 


PLATE  XXXVIII 


QUEEN-CUP 

(Clintonia  unifier  a) 


121 


PLATE  XXXIX 


FALSE  HELLEBORE 
(Veratrum  viride) 


123 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  I25 

the  forest  should  be  called  after  so  prosaic  an  individual  as  the 
Governor  of  New  York,  and  soundly  berates  Gray  for  the 
fault ;  but  may  not  Clinton,  the  man  of  affairs,  statecraft,  and 
finance,  have  had  an  artistic  side  to  his  character  ?  May  he 
not  have  been  a  true  lover  of  Nature  and  an  ardent  admirer 
of  the  splendid  throng  of  amazing  and  mysterious  beauties 
that  enrich  with  the  perfume  of  their  presence  the  land  of 
the  alpine  flower-fields  ? 

I  feel  that  a  great  honour  has  been  conferred  upon  me  in 
that  I  have  been  permitted  to  name  this  lovely  plant  —  Queen- 
cup.  Hitherto  it  has  been  nameless  in  the  English  language, 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  no  more  fitting  title  could  be  bestowed 
upon  the  Clintonia  uni flora,  with  its  great  shining  leaves, 
amongst  which  are  set  the  pure  white  chalices  of  its  blossoms, 
than  Queen-cup,  —  the  queen  of  all  the  snowy  flower-cups  of 
the  alpine  forests. 

ASPHODEL 

Tqfieldia  glutinosa.    Lily  Family 

Stems :  viscid-pubescent  with  black  glands,  bearing  two  to  four  leaves 
near  the  base.  Leaves:  basal  ones  tufted.  Flowers:  terminal  racemes 
oblong,  the  upper  flowers  opening  first,  becoming  longer  in  fruit;  invo- 
lucral  bracts  minute,  united  at  the  apices,  borne  just  below  the  flower ; 
perianth-segments  oblong,  obtuse,  membranous.  Fruit:  seeds  tailed  at 
each  end. 

A  traveller  cannot  pick  the  long  spikes  of  tiny  white  blos- 
soms which  belong  to  this  plant  without  at  once  recognizing 
its  name  by  the  exceedingly  sticky  and  hairy  nature  of  the 
stems.  The  Latin  designation  glutinosa  exactly  describes  it. 
The  Asphodel  grows  along  the  banks  of  streams  and  in  wet 
places.  See  Plate  XXXII. 


126  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

FALSE  HELLEBORE 

Veratrum  viride.    Lily  Family 

Stems:  stout,  tall,  very  leafy.  Leaves:  acute,  strongly  veined,  short- 
petioled,  sheathing,  the  upper  ones  successively  narrower,  those  of  the 
inflorescence  small.  Flowers:  panicles  long,  pubescent,  densely  many- 
flowered,  its  lower  branches  spreading. 

This  is  by  far  the  largest  and  handsomest  green-flowered 
plant  which  grows  in  the  mountains.  Its  foliage  is  immense 
in  size,  bright  green,  and  the  leaves  have  a  peculiar  plaited 
appearance.  In  the  early  spring  the  stout  solid  spears  of  the 
False  Hellebore  push  their  way  up  through  the  soil  and  soon 
begin  to  unfold  with  the  increasing  warmth  of  the  sun's  rays. 
Then  the  long  stiff  spikes  and  graceful  pendent  tassels  of 
flowers  commence  to  lengthen  and  unfold,  yellowish  at  first, 
and  later  on  becoming  greener.  The  flowers  are  composed  of 
six  petals  and  have  six  whitish  stamens. 

Burton  in  his  Anatomic  of  Melancholy  refers  to  the  alleged 
curative  properties  of  the  Hellebore  as  an  antidote  for  madness. 

"  Borage  and  hellebore  fill  two  scenes, 
Sovereign  plants  to  purge  the  veins 
Of  melancholy,  and  cheer  the  heart 
Of  those  black  fumes  which  make  it  smart.'' 

Yet  according  to  the  principle  that  those  herbs  which  cure 
may  also  kill,  the  Hellebore  is  best  known  to  us  as  a  very 
poisonous  plant. 

STENANTHIUM 

Stenanthium  occidentale.    Lily  Family 

Bulb  oblong-ovoid,  coated.  Stems:  slender,  erect,  glabrous.  Leaves: 
few,  linear,  lanceolate,  acuminate.  Flowers :  raceme  simple,  flowers  cam- 
panulate,  nodding,  segments  of  the  perianth  brownish-green;  bracts  some- 
what scarious ;  pedicels  slender,  spreading,  longer  than  the  bracts. 
Fruit:  seeds  linear,  flat,  winged. 


PLATE  XL 


STENANTHIUM 
(Stenanthium  occidentale] 


127 


PLATE  XLI 


TALL  ZYGADENE 

(Zygademis  elegans) 
129 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  131 

This  plant  grows  only  in  shady  places  and  is  tall,  with 
many  brownish-green  bells  nodding  on  its  slender  stalks.  It 
has  very  narrow  ribbon-like  leaves  growing  from  the  base  and 
also  up  the  stems. 

TALL   ZYGADENE 

Zygadenus  elegans.    Lily  Family 

Bulb  ovoid,  membranous,  coated.  Stems :  slender.  Leaves :  very  glau- 
cous, narrow ;  bracts  long-keeled,  lanceolate,  rather  large.  Flowers :  in  a 
single  raceme,  or  a  large  panicle,  its  branches  slender,  ascending,  the 
perianth  adnate  to  the  base  of  the  ovary,  its  segments  broadly  oval,  the 
inner  abruptly  contracted  to  a  short  claw,  gland  obcordate.  Fruit :  seeds 
oblong,  angular. 

A  tall  attractive  plant  whose  branching  stems  are  covered 
by  many  round  creamy  flowers  splashed  with  green.  These 
flowers  are  six-parted  and  have  a  number  of  brown-tipped 
stamens  clustered  about  the  large  green  base  of  the  pistil. 
The  capsule,  or  dry  fruit,  which  develops  as  the  floral  leaves 
die  and  drop  off,  is  three-lobed  and  very  large.  The  leaves 
of  the  Tall  Zygadene  are  long  and  narrow  and  are  covered 
with  a  whitish  bloom. 

Z.  venenosus,  or  Poisonous  Zygadene,  is  a  slightly  shorter, 
smaller  species  of  this  genus,  also  frequently  found  in  the 
mountain  regions.  Its  yellowish-green  flowers  grow  closely 
together  and  it  has  roughish  leaves.  So  poisonous  is  this 
plant  that  animals  frequently  die  from  the  effects  of  eating  it. 


MOUNTAIN  WILD  FLOWERS 
OF  AMERICA 

SECTION  II 
PINK  TO  RED  FLOWERS 


SECTION  II 


PINK  TO  RED  FLOWERS 


Flowers  that  are  pink  to  red,  or  occasionally  so,  but  not 
described  in  this  Section 


Wind-flower 

Stony  Rock-cress  .... 
Alpine  Rock-cress  .  .  . 
Drummond's  Rock-cress  . 
Spring  Beauty  .... 
White  Geranium  .... 
Alsatian  Clover  .... 

Tellima 

Alpine  Aster 

Yarrow 

Sweet  Androsace  .... 

Star-flower 

Buckbean 

Tall  Eriogonum    .... 

Alpine  Bistort 

Mountain  Larkspur  .  .  . 
Wavy-leaved  Thistle  .  . 
Large  Purple  Beard-tongue 
Wild  Canada  Mint  . 


PAGE 

Anemone  mnltifida  (White  to  Green  Section)     ...      4 

Arabis  Holbcellii  (White  to  Green  Section)     .     .     .     .  15 

Arabis   confinis  (White  to  Green  Section)      ....  15 

Arabis  Drummondii  (White  to  Green  Section)       .     .  16 

Claytonia  szssilifolia  (White  to  Green  Section)   ...  28 

Geranium  Richardsoni  (White  to  Green  Section)  .     .  31 

Trifolium  hybridum  (White  to  Green  Section)  ...  31 

Tellima  grandiflora  (White  to  Green  Section)  ...  50 

Aster  alpinus  (White  to  Green  Section)     .     .     .     .     .  68 

Achillea  lanulosa  (White  to  Green  Section)   ....  74 

Androsace  Chamcejasme  (White  to  Green  Section)      .  90 

Trientalis  Americana  (White  to  Green  Section)    .     .  90 

Menyanthes  trifoliata  (White  to  Green  Section)     .     .  95 
Eriogomtm  umbellatum  (White  to  Green  Section)  .     .100 

Polygonum  vivifarum  (White  to  Green  Section)    .     .  100 

Delphinium  Brownii  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)   .     .     .  191 

Cnicus  imdulatus  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)    ....  220 

Penstemon  Menziesii  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)   .     .     .  243 

Mentha  Canadensis  (Blue  to  Purple  Section)     .     .     .  248 


WESTERN   COLUMBINE 

Aquilegia  fonnosa.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  branching  from  a  simple,  fleshy,  fusiform  root.  Leaves:  lower 
ones  triternate  on  long  petioles,  upper  ones  sessile  or  reduced  to  simple 
bracts ;  leaflets  broadly  cuneate,  three-cleft.  Flowers :  red,  pendulous  in 
anthesis  ;  sepals  spreading  or  reflexed,  abruptly  narrowed  to  a  short 
claw ;  spurs  same  length  as  sepals. 

135 


136  PINK  TO  RED 

A  large  gaudy  flower  of  which  it  has  been  said  : 

"  The  graceful  columbine,  all  blushing  red, 
Bends  to  the  earth  her  crown 
Of  honey-laden  bells." 

The  Western  Columbine  does  not  seek  the  light  dry  soil 
amongst  the  rocks,  as  do  its  sisters,  the  Yellow  and  the  Blue 
Columbines,  but  prefers  a  moist  habitat,  where  its  brilliant 
pendulous  blossoms  make  the  valleys  gay. 

It  has  five  bright  red  and  gold  petals,  growing  alternately 
with  its  five  red  sepals.  These  petals,  shaped  like  inverted 
cornucopias,  are  usually  edged  as  well  as  lined  with  yellow, 
their  upper  ends  being  narrowed  to  terminal  tubular  spurs. 
Linnaeus  gave  this  plant  its  generic  name,  derived  from  the 
Latin  aquila,  owing  to  the  fancied  resemblance  of  its  spurs 
to  the  claws  of  an  eagle ;  while  Columbine  is  taken  from 
colinnba,  "  a  dove,"  and  refers  to  the  resemblance  of  its 
nectaries  to  a  circle  of  doves  in  a  ring  around  a  dish,  which 
was  a^  favourite  device  amongst  sculptors  and  painters  in 
ancient  times.  The  numerous  stamens  and  long  slender  styles 
of  the  pistils  protrude  like  pretty  golden  tassels  from  each 
flower.  The  foliage  of  this  tall  plant,  which  usually  grows 
from  two  to  three  feet  high,  is  very  abundant  and  fern-like ; 
dark  green  on  the  top,  and  pale  and  whitish  underneath. 
The  larger  leaves  grow  on  long  foot-stalks  and  are  divided 
into  three  leaflets,  which  in  their  turn  are  three-to-five  lobed 
and  have  unequally  toothed  edges. 

There  are  not  very  many  really  red  mountain  wild  flowers, 
and  therefore  the  traveller  takes  an  especial  delight  in  finding 
the  Western  Columbine,  since,  like  Eugene  Field,  he  loves 
a  blossom  of  "  any  colour  at  all  so  long  as  it's  red."  It  is 
a  plant  extremely  attractive  to  bees,  butterflies,  and  birds, 
which  come  to  sip  its  sweets. 


PLATE  XLII 


WESTERN  COLUMBINE 
{Aquilegia  for  most!) 

137 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  139 

WILD   BLEEDING-HEART 

Dicentra  formosa.    Fumitory  Family 

Stems:  from  the  apex  of  thick,  almost  naked,  creeping  rootstocks. 
Leaves :  twice  or  thrice  ternately  compound,  the  ultimate  divisions  narrow 
and  incisely  pinnatifid.  Flowers:  pale  magenta,  in  compound  racemes 
at  summit  of  scapes  ;  corolla  ovate-cordate,  with  connivent  spurs  ;  petals 
united  up  to  and  above  the  middle. 

This  plant  resembles,  in  miniature,  the  lovely  pink  and 
white  Bleeding-heart  so  popular  in  old-fashioned  gardens ; 
but  its  dull  magenta-pink  flowers  are  not  nearly  so  attractive 
in  appearance  as  those  of  its  beautiful  cultivated  cousin.  The 
only  charm  of  the  wild  species  lies  in  the  grace  of  its  slender 
stems,  which  bear  numerous  pendent  heart-shaped  blossoms 
along  their  drooping  lengths,  and  its  finely  dissected  foliage. 


CAROLINA   CRANE'S-BILL 

Geranium  Carolinianum.    Geranium  Family 

Stems :  erect,  much  branched  from  the  base.  Leaves :  petioled,  reniform- 
orbicular  in  outline,  deeply  cleft  into  five  to  nine  oblong,  cuneate,  lobed 
segments.  Flowers :  in  compact  clusters ;  petals  pink,  obcordate,  equal- 
ling the  awned  sepals. 

This  wild  Geranium  is  very  like  the  Herb  Robert,  and  has 
the  same  dull  pink  flowers  veined  with  deep  rose.  The 
Greek  name  of  the  plant  means  "  a  crane,"  and  the  common 
name  Crane's-bill  denotes  the  long  grooved  beak  composed 
of  five  styles  that  cohere  at  the  top.  The  calyx  is  formed  of 
five  pointed  sepals,  and  the  corolla  of  five  indented  petals. 
The  whole  plant  is  covered  with  fine  gray  hairs  and  has  an 
extremely  strong  smell,  caused  by  a  resinous  secretion.  Its 
leaves  are  roundish  in  form  and  deeply  cleft ;  the  long  stalks 
are  brittle  and  quite  red  where  exposed  to  the  sunlight. 
Sometimes  the  flowers  are  white. 


140  PINK  TO  RED 

RED  CLOVER 

Trifolium  pratense.    Pea  Family 

Stems :  ascending,  somewhat  hairy ;  pistules  broadly  lanceolate,  mem- 
branaceous,  nerved,  setaceously  acuminate.  Leaves:  leaflets  obcordate, 
nearly  entire.  Flowers :  heads  ovate,  dense,  nearly  sessile,  bracteate  ;  teeth 
of  the  calyx  setaceous,  hairy,  the  lower  one  much  longer  than  the  other 
four ;  petals  purple-red,  all  united  into  a  tube  at  the  base.  Not  indigenous. 

Thoreau  speaks  of  the  fields  blushing  with  Red  Clover 
"  as  'the  western  sky  at  evening."  Every  one  knows  the 
Clover.  Every  one  has  walked  ankle-deep  in  meadows  rich 
with  its  red  flowers.  Some  of  us  are  even  fortunate  enough 
to  "  live  in  clover,"  -  but  not  all !  It  is  a  quaint  conceit  of 
the  Red  Clover  to  fold  its  leaves  in  sleep  each  night,  the  two 
side  leaflets  drooping  downwards  together  and  the  terminal 
one  bowed  over  them. 

The  name  Clover  probably  comes  from  the  Latin  clava, 
meaning  "club,"  and  refers  to  the  possible  resemblance 
between  the  trefoil  leaf  and  the  three-headed  club  of  Her- 
cules. The  "  clubs  "  on  playing  cards  are,  no  doubt,  also  an 
imitation  of  the  clover  leaf. 


MACKENZIE'S   HEDYSARUM 

Hedysarwn  Mackenzii.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  suberect,  simple  or  branched,  minutely  pubescent.  Leaves:  five 
to  eight  pairs,  oblong.  Flowers :  seven  to  thirty,  loosely  flowered ;  bracts 
subulate;  teeth  of  the  calyx  as  long  as  the  tube. 

A  bright  rose-magenta  wild  Pea  that  grows  to  a  height  of 
two  feet  in  the  mountain  meadows.  It  is  a  large,  spreading, 
handsome  plant. 


PLATE  XLIII 


LONG-PLUMED  AVENS 

(Geum  trifloruni) 
141 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  143 

ARCTIC   RASPBERRY 

Rubus  arcticus.    Rose  Family 

Stems:  erect,  branched  at  base.  Leaves:  trifoliolate ;  leaflets  sessile, 
rhombic-ovate,  unequally  serrate.  Flowers :  solitary ;  sepals  acute,  equal- 
ling the  obovate  entire  petals.  Fruit :  light  red,  of  several  drupelets,  edible. 

A  dwarf  alpine  Raspberry,  about  six  inches  high,  that 
grows  at  an  altitude  of  8000  feet.  It  has  a  few  large  three- 
parted  leaves  and  one  or  two  rose-pink  flowers  composed  of 
six  long,  widely  separated  petals.  The  long  thin  roots  strike 
straight  down  into  the  earth,  and  therefore  when  you  attempt 
to  pick  one  of  these  little  plants  it  usually  comes  up  altogether 
out  of  the  ground  in  your  hand.  The  Arctic  Raspberry  has 
no  prickles. 

LONG-PLUMED  AVENS 

Geum  triflorum.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  scape  simple,  three-flowered  at  the  summit.  Leaves :  basal  ones 
tufted,  petioled,  interruptedly  pinnate,  with  many  small  leaflets  inter- 
spersed among  the  numerous  obovate  larger  ones ;  leaves  of  the  scape  two 
opposite,  small,  sessile  pairs.  Flowers :  of  five  pale  purplish-pink  petals  sur- 
rounded by  a  persistent  red  calyx,  five-bracteolate  and  five-lobed ;  bract- 
lets  linear,  slightly  longer  than  the  lanceolate,  acute,  erect  lobes.  Fruit: 
head  sessile ;  style  filiform  and  strongly  plumose. 

A  very  curious  plant.  Its  general  appearance  is  that  of 
bearing  three  large  dull  red  buds  on  a  three-branched  red 
stem,  with  a  number  of  little  red  bracts  clustered  at  the 
fork ;  for  the  pale  pink  or  yellowish  petals  are  so  snugly  hid- 
den away  within  the  calyx  that  you  do  not  observe  them  at  a 
casual  glance.  The  closed  calyx  forms  these  fat  buds,  which 
have  five  slender  reflexed  bracts  set  between  their  lobes,  and 
from  their  pointed  tips  protrude  a  number  of  yellow  stamens. 

When  the  petals  and  sepals  fall  off  the  long  plumose  tails 
that  adorn  the  ripened  heads  of  the  Avens  are  exceedingly 
attractive. 

Many  long  finely  cut  leaves  grow  at  the  base  of  this  plant. 


144  P!NK  TO  RED 

ROSEWORT 
Sedum  ffigid-um.    Orpine  Family 

Stems:  erect,  simple,  glabrous.  Leaves:  oval,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  den- 
tate. Flowers:  cyme  terminal,  dense;  petals  longer  than  the  oblong 
narrow  sepals;  staminate  flowers  with  eight  stamens,  the  pistillate  ones 
with  four  carpels. 

The  small  purplish-red  flowers  of  this  short  thick  plant 
are  set  in  a  cluster  at  the  top  of  the  stems,  which  are  covered 
with  many  small  leaves.  It  grows  in  the  crannies  between 
the  rocks  and  on  stony  slopes. 

GREAT  WILLOW-HERB 

Epilobium  angustifolium.    Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  simple  or  branched,  glabrous.  Leaves  :•  alternate,  lanceo- 
late, entife,  pale  beneath,  acute  at  the  apex,  narrowed  at  the  base,  thin. 
Flowers:  magenta,  in  terminal  spike-like  racemes;  petals  four,  entire, 
spreading. 

The  tall  strong  stems  of  this  striking  plant  rise  to  an 
average  height  of  three  feet,  though  frequently  taller,  and 
terminate  in  long  racemes  of  bright  purplish  flowers,  in  which 
the  number  four  is  conspicuous,  each  one  having  a  very  long 
calyx-tube  divided  into  four  segments  and  four  large,  rounded, 
wide-open  petals.  The  four-cleft  stigma  at  the  apex  of  the 
long  style  is  extremely  prominent.  The  mid-ribs  of  the  leaves, 
the  stems,  the  buds,  and  the  calyx-tubes  are  all  a  dull  red  ; 
and  when  the  seed  ripens  the  long  narrow  vessels  burst  open 
lengthwise  and  send  afloat  in  the  air  clouds  of  white  silky  tufts, 
to  each  of  which  is  attached  a  seed  that  ultimately  falls  to 
earth  seeking  some  new  spot  favourable  to  its  development. 

The  name  Epilobium  signifies  "  upon  a  pod,"  and  probably 
refers  to  the  fact  that  the  flowers  grow  on  the  ends  of  the 
long  pods.  Willow-herb  refers  to  the  fact  that  the  leaves 
resemble  those  of  the  Willow. 


PLATE  XLIV 


WATER  WILLOW-HERB 
(JEpilobium  latifoliuni) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  147 

Wild  Fire,  or  Fire  Weed,  is  another  common  name  for 
this  plant,  and  a  very  appropriate  one,  too,  for  it  is  marvellous 
how  quickly  these  stately,  handsome  flowers  will  cover  over 
and  beautify  those  tracts  of  country  that  have  been  charred 
and  desolated  by  forest  fires. 

"  Strange  flower,  thy  purple  making  haste 
To  glorify  each  blackened  waste 

Of  fire-swept  land 
Is  with  a  blessed  meaning  fraught, 
And  we  —  when  pain  hath  fully  wrought  — 

Shall  understand." 

E.  angustifoliuni  var.  canescens,  or  Pink  Willow-herb,  is 
another  species  resembling  the  foregoing  one,  but  having 
lovely  pale  pink  flowers  marked  by  rose-coloured  veins. 

WATER  WILLOW-HERB 

Epilobium  latifolium.    Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  branching.  Leaves :  sessile,  entire,  lanceolate,  acutish  at 
both  ends,  thick.  Flowers:  magenta,  in  leafly-bracted  racemes;  petals 
entire ;  stigma  four-lobed. 

A  very  handsome  species  of  Willow-herb,  which  grows  in 
wet  places  and  marshes,  or  near  water.  It  may  always  be 
recognized  by  its  large  bright  magenta  flowers  and  the  glau- 
cous appearance  of  the  stems  and  leaves,  —  that  is  to  say,  by 
the  whitish  bloom  which  covers  them.  The  leaves  are  also 
thick  and  very  soft. 

ALPINE  WILLOW-HERB 

Epilobium  anagallidifolium.     Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems :  low,  tufted,  nodding  at  the  apex.  Leaves :  oblong,  entire,  obtuse 
at  the  apex.  Flowers:  few,  axillary,  clustered  at  the  apex,  nodding; 
stigma  entire.  Fruit :  seeds  smooth,  short-beaked,  coma  dingy  white. 

A  tiny  dwarf  plant,  from  two  to  six  inches  high,  growing 
on  lofty  summits.  It  has  small  magenta  or  sometimes  white 


148  PINK  TO  RED 

flowers,  which  nod  at  the  top  of  the  slender  single  stems,  up 
which  a  few  pairs  of  little  oblong  leaves  grow.  It  has  been 
found  at  the  immense  altitude  of  10,000  feet. 

HORNEMANN'S    WILLOW-HERB 

Epilobium  Horneuianni.    Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  simple  or  nearly  so.  Leaves :  short-petioled,  ovate,  broadly 
obtuse  at  the  apex,  narrowed  at  the  base,  entire  or  remotely  denticulate, 
thin.  Flowers:  few  in  the  upper  axils;  stigma  entire.  Fruit:  capsules 
long ;  seeds  papillose,  nearly  beakless. 

A  common  species  of  Willow-herb  that  grows  about  eight 
inches  high,  bears  small  purplish-pink  or  white  flowers  that 
are  strongly  veined,  and  has  very  long  slender  capsules,  or 
seed  vessels,  on  its  reddish  stalks.  The  pretty  little  blossoms 
are  surrounded  by  a  green  calyx  and  surmount  the  narrow 
capsules,  which  are  usually  from  an  inch  to  two  inches  long. 

NORTHERN   TWIN-FLOWER 

Linncea  borealis.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Branches  slender,  trailing.  Leaves :  obscurely  crenate,  thick,  sometimes 
wider  than  long.  Flowers :  two-flowered,  nodding ;  peduncles  slender, 
erect,  two-bracted  at  the  summit ;  calyx-tube  five-lobed  ;  corolla  tubular- 
campanulate,  five-lobed. 

This  lovely  fragrant  plant,  called  after  the  great  Linnaeus, 
the  Father  of  Botany,  is  a 

"Monument  of  the  Man  of  Flowers," 

who  loved  its  exquisite  pink  bells  above  all  else  in  Nature, 
and  who  sealed  his  preference  by  adopting  it  as  his  crest. 

There  is  no  more  charming  spot  in  the  mountains  than 
some  sequestered  nook  or  shady  bank  carpeted  and  adorned 
by  the  delicate  trailing  branches  of  the  Northern  Twin-flower, 
its  glossy  green  leaves  mingling  with  the  moss,  and  its  pale 
pink  pairs  of  bells,  veined  and  lined  with  rose  colour,  growing 


PLATE  XLV 


149 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  151 

in  lavish  profusion  and  "  gently  to  the  passing  breeze  diffusing 
fragrance."  The  slender  stalks  of  this  vine  stand  up  erect, 
and,  forking  near  the  summit,  bear  on  either  side  twin-born 
pendent  blossoms  of  rare  loveliness. 

Seeking  the  shade  and  moisture,  this  plant  avoids  exposed 
or  sunny  places,  for 

"  Beneath  dim  aisles,  in  odorous  beds, 
The  slight  Linnaea  hangs  its  twin-born  heads," 

and  reminds  us  as  we  gather  its  graceful  perfumed  bells  that 
"  sweetest  of  all  things  is  wild-flower  air." 

It  is  widely  distributed  throughout  most  northern  countries, 
and  is  found  even  within  the  limits  of  the  Arctic  Circle. 

SMOOTH-LEAVED  HONEYSUCKLE 

Lonicera  glaucescens.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Twining,  the  branches  glabrous.  Leaves:  chartaceous-margined,  not 
ciliate,  only  the  upper  pair  connate-perfoliate.  Flowers:  verticillate  in  a 
short,  terminal,  interrupted  spike  ;  corolla  yellow  changing  to  red,  the 
tube  strongly  gibbous  at  the  base,  the  two-lipped  limb  shorter  than  the 
tube  ;  stamens  and  style  exserted. 

A  climbing  vine,  with  pairs  of  smooth  leaves  covered  with 
a  delicate  bloom  growing  along  its  branches,  only  the  upper 
ones  joined  together  round  the  stem,  which  bears  at  its  apex 
a  cluster  of  red  and  gold  flowers.  These  blossoms  are  trum- 
pet-shaped, and  the  five  stamens  and  style  project  beyond  the 
corolla,  which  is  vermilion  outside  and  yellow  within.  The  berry 
is  soft  and  juicy.  Sometimes  this  vine  is  called  Woodbine,  and 
Shakespeare  in  his  exquisite  romance  of  A  Midsummer-Night's 
Dream  refers  to  this  fact  when  he  makes  Queen  Titania  say 
to  Bottom  the  Weaver,  with  whom  the  Fairy  King  Oberon 
has  caused  her  by  means  of  a  love  philter  to  fall  in  love  : 

"  Sleep  thou,  and  I  will  wind  thee  in  my  arms. 
So  doth  the  woodbine  the  sweet  honeysuckle 
Gently  entwist." 


152  PINK  TO  RED 

Milton  in  Lycidas  speaks  of  "the  well-attir'd  woodbine," 
and  truly,  for  no  " gadding  vine"  was  ever  graced  with  finer 
or  more  fragrant  flowers. 

Spenser  calls  it  by  the  older  name  of  Caprifole,  or  Goat -leaf, 
because,  like  the  mountain  goat,  it  climbs  over  almost  inac- 
cessible crags ;  the  French  and  Italian  names  are  also  similar, 
being  respectively  Chevre-feuille  and  Caprifoglio. 


ROUGH  FLEABANE 

Erigeron  glabellus.    Composite  Family 

Perennial  by  a  woody  root.  Stems:  simple  or  branched  above,  some- 
times hirsute.  Leaves:  pubescent,  entire,  the  basal  ones  spatulate;  stem- 
leaves  oblong-lanceolate,  obtuse  or  acute.  Flowers:  heads  several  or 
solitary,  involucre  hemispheric,  hirsute;  rays  very  narrow,  about  one 
hundred  or  more. 

This  charming  Fleabane  grows  in  dry  soil  and  bears  flowers 
of  many  hues,  —  pink,  mauve,  cream,  and  white.  It  has  long 
narrow  leaves,  which,  together  with  the  stalks,  are  hairy. 


PINK  EVERLASTING 

Antennaria  parvifolia  var.  rosea.    Composite  Family 

Floccose-woolly,  surculose,  forming  broad  patches.  Leaves :  basal  ones 
spatulate  or  obovate,  white-canescent  on  both  sides ;  stem-leaves  linear, 
sessile.  Flowers:  heads  in  a  terminal  capitate  or  corymbose  cluster. 

The  Pink  Everlasting  is  so  conspicuous  by  reason  of  its 
rosy  crackling  flowers,  with  their  white  silky  centres  and  white 
woolly  stems  and  leavesj  that  it  requires  little  definite  descrip- 
tion for  identification.  It  has  a  tuft  of  procumbent  foliage  at 
the  base,  and  all  the  way  up  the  stem  there  cling  many  tiny 
narrow  leaves.  Growing  from  two  to  twelve  inches  high,  this 
plant  will  be  found  in  the  same  localities  as  the  white  species. 


PLATE  XLVI 


ROUGH  FLEABANE 

(Erigeron  glabellus) 


153 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  155 

DWARF  BILBERRY 

Vaccinium  c&spitosum.    Huckleberry  Family 

Stems:  much  branched.  Leaves:  obovate  to  cuneate-oblong,  obtuse, 
thickly  serrulate,  reticulate-veiny.  Flowers:  corolla  ovate.  Fruit:  large, 
sweet,  blue  berry,  with  a  bloom. 

The  Dwarf  Bilberry  is  really  a  tiny  shrub,  but  is  placed  in 
this  Section,  as  it  is  so  small  that  few  people  would  think  of 
looking  for  it  in  the  Flowering  Shrubs  Section. 

It  grows  only  from  three  to  seven  inches  high,  and  has 
many  little  fine  branches  thickly  covered  with  leaves,  which  are 
bright  green  on  both  sides.  These  stem-branches  bear  numer- 
ous tiny,  bell-shaped,  pinkish  or  white  flowers,  with  the  calyx 
five-toothed  and  about  ten  stamens.  These  in  time  turn  to 
sweet  blue  berries,  covered  with  a  rich  bloom,  and  so  large  as 
to  be  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  plant. 

V.  Myrtillus,  or  Alpine  Bilberry,  closely  resembles  the  pre- 
ceding species,  but  grows  slightly  taller  and  has  a  very  promi- 
nent mid-rib  in  its  leaves,  which  latter  are  extremely  shiny. 
It  also  has  pale  pink  or  white  bells.  The  berry  is  black  and 
nodding. 

MOUNTAIN  CRANBERRY 

Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea.    Huckleberry  Family 

Branches  tufted  from  creeping  stems.  Leaves:  crowded,  oval,  emargi- 
nate,  shining  above,  pale  bristly  and  dark-dotted  beneath.  Flowers: 
crowded  in  a  short  terminal  secund  and  nodding  bracteate  raceme. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  low,  creeping,  evergreen 
shrub  is  that  it  has  numerous  black  bristly  dots  beneath  the 
leaves.  The  clusters  of  tiny,  waxen,  pink  bells  grow  on  erect 
branches,  which  spring  from  the  creeping  stems  and  attain  to 
a  height  of  about  eight  inches.  The  berries  are  dark  red  and 
very  acid 


156  PINK  TO   RED 

Though  in  reality  a  shrub,  —  which  means  that  it  is  a  woody 
plant  whose  stems  do  not  die  down  to  the  ground  in  the 
winter,  —  the  little  Mountain  Cranberry  is  placed  in  this  Sec- 
tion, where  most  readers  will  look  for  it. 

SMALL  CRANBERRY 

Oxy coccus  vulgaris.    Huckleberry  Family 

Branches  ascending.  Stems:  very  slender,  creeping,  rooting  at  the 
nodes.  Leaves:  thick,  evergreen,  ovate,  entire,  the  margins  revolute. 
Flowers:  umbellate,  nodding  on  erect  filiform  pedicels;  corolla  pink. 
Fruit :  berry  globose,  acid. 

A  creeping  shrub,  with  alternate  leaves  that  are  dark  green 
above  and  white  beneath.  It  is  very  delicately  formed  and 
resembles  a  slender  trailing  vine  far  more  than  a  shrub,  which 
latter  word  we  are  accustomed  by  common  usage  to  apply  only 
to  tall,  stout,  or  bushy  plants.  The  four  or  five  tiny,  narrow, 
pink  divisions  of  the  corolla  are  spread  wide  open  and  reveal  the 
anthers  converging  into  a  cone,  which  is  extremely  prominent 
when  the  flower  is  expanded.  The  fruit  is  a  round,  red,  juicy, 
many-seeded  berry.  This  Cranberry  grows  chiefly  in  marshy 
places  and  swamps,  also  along  the  margins  of  lakes  and  pools. 

RED  BEARBERRY 

Arctostaphylos  Uva-ursi.    Heath  Family 

Diffusely  much  branched,  and  rooting  at  the  nodes.  Leaves:  oblong- 
spatulate,  obtuse,  tapering  into  a  short  petiole.  Flowers:  few,  in  short 
racemes;  corolla  ovoid,  constricted  at  the  throat.  Fruit:  globose,  drupe 
red,  glabrous,  containing  five  coalescent  nutlets. 

Another  trailing  shrub  which  is  exceedingly  handsome  ;  it 
grows  in  depressed  patches  several  feet  in  diameter,  from  a 
single  main  root.  It  is  usually  found  creeping  over  dry  gravelly 
places,  and  covering  the  rocks  with  its  bright  little  evergreen 
leaves.  In  the  autumn  these  leaves  turn  bronze,  and  lovely 
scarlet,  dry,  berry -like  fruits  gem  the  spreading  branches. 


PLATE  XLVII 


PINK  EVERLASTING 
(Antennaria  parvifolia  var.  rosea) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  159 

White  flushed  with  rose  colour  are  these  tiny  rounded 
flowers,  constricted  at  the  throat,  and  giving  forth  a  faint 
sweet  odour. 

"  Oh !  to  be  friends  with  the  lichens,  the  low,  creeping  vines 
and  the  mosses, 

There  close  to  lie ; 

Gazing  aloft  at  each  pine-plume  that  airily,  playfully  tosses 
'Neath  the  blue  sky." 

Doubtless  the  name  Bearberry  is  derived  from  the  fact  that 
Bruin  is  very  fond  of  the  fruit  of  the  Arctostaphylos,  though 
with  small  game  birds,  and  especially  grouse,  it  is  also  a  favour- 
ite article  of  food.  The  Indians  call  it  Kinnikinic  and  prize 
it  for  its  astringent  properties,  using  it  as  a  medicine  and  also 
in  the  "curing"  of  animal  skins. 

A.  alpina,  or  Alpine  Bearberry,  is  a  very  tiny  species,  from 
two  to  four  inches  long,  and  is  found  growing  on  mountain 
summits  as  high  as  7000  feet.  It  is  usually  prostrate,  with 
thin,  conspicuously  veined  leaves,  a  few  pale  pink  or  white 
flowers,  and  bright  red  juicy  berries.  This  is  also  a  shrub  and 
in  spite  of  its  small  size  has  shreddy  bark. 

RED  FALSE  HEATHER 

Bryanthus  cmpetriformis.    Heath  Family 

Densely  much  branched  from  the  base.  Leaves:  strongly  revolute, 
thickened  and  rough  margins.  Flowers:  umbellate,  subtended  by  folia- 
ceous  and  rigid  bracts  ;  corolla  deep  rose  colour,  campanulate,  five-lobed. 

The  False  Heathers  —  there  are  no  true  Heathers  indige- 
nous to  this  continent  —  are  also  low  branching  shrubs,  but  are 
placed  in  this  Section  for  the  same  reason  as  are  the  small 
Vacciniums  and  the  ArctostapJiylos,  namely,  because  it  is  here 
that  the  traveller  will  expect  to  find  them,  deeming  them 
ordinary  flowers  and  not  flowering  shrubs. 

The  BryantJius  cmpetrifonnis  grows  abundantly  in  the 
mountains,  and  at  very  high  altitudes.  It  is  a  wonderful  sight 


160  PINK  TO  RED 

to  see  acre  upon  acre  covered  with  its  beautiful  bells,  until  the 
slopes  of  the  hills  and  the  alpine  meadows  seem  to  be  literally 
clothed  with  a  glorious  robe  of  rose-red  Heather,  whose  border 
is  embroidered  with  the  White  False  Heather  and  White 
Heath,  the  blue  Speedwell  and  the  yellow  Arnica. 
Many  a  traveller  knows  how  true  are  the  lines : 

"  When  summer  comes,  the  heather  bell 
Shall  tempt  thy  feet  to  rove  "  ; 

and  many  a  man  has  echoed  in  his  heart : 

"  Here  's  to  the  heath,  the  hill,  and  the  heather, 
The  bonnet,  the  plaidie,  the  kilt,  and  the  feather; 
Here  's  to  the  heroes  that  Scotland  can  boast, 
May  their  names  never  die  —  that's  a  Highlandman's  toast!" 

Truly  a  love  for  the  Heath  and  the  Heather  is  common  to 
all  nations,  and  is  the  especial  trait  of  all  mountain  climbers. 

B.  intennedius,  or  Pink  False  Heather,  is  a  much  rarer  plant 
and  is  found  in  comparatively  few  localities.  I  first  reported 
it  from  the  Selkirk  Mountains  in  1901,  though  it  had  previ- 
ously been  reported  from  the  Rockies  by  Macoun,  Drummond, 
and  Dawson. 

It  is  easily  known  to  travellers  by  means  of  its  lovely  pale 
pink  bells.  The  foliage  is  precisely  similar  to  that  of  B.  empctri- 
formis,  but  the  flower  differs  in  a  few  very  minor  particulars. 

SWAMP  LAUREL 

Kalmia  glauca.    Heath  Family 

Branches  glabrous,  ascending.  Leaves:  opposite,  nearly  sessile,  linear- 
oblong,  margins  strongly  revolute.  Flowers:  in  simple  terminal  umbels; 
bracts  large ;  sepals  ovate,  much  imbricated,  persistent. 

Yet  another  little  shrub  placed  in  this  Section.  Growing 
usually  about  a  foot  high,  though  frequently  only  a  few  inches 
tall,  it  bears  at  the  ends  of  its  slender  branches  large  clusters 
of  bright  rose-red  or  magenta  flowers,  which  have  a  five-lobed 


PLATE  XLVIII 


RED  FALSE  HEATHER 

(Bryanthus  empetriformis) 

161 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  163 

corolla  and  ten  stamens,  whose  filaments  are  slightly  curved, 
by  reason  of  the  red-brown  anthers  being  caught  in  the  ten 
pouches  which  are  placed  below  the  limbs,  or  expanded  lobes 
of  the  corolla.  If  you  flip  the  outer  edge  of  the  Swamp  Laurel 
gently  with  your  finger,  you  will  see  the  little  stamens  spring 
upright,  sending  forth  a  shower  of  pollen  from  their  anthers  in 
the  process.  The  heart  of  the  flower  is  usually  pale  green. 
Its  evergreen  foliage  is  dark  green  above  and  covered  with  a 
white  bloom  beneath,  which  latter  characteristic  gives  it  the 
distinguishing  title  of  glauca. 

The  Swamp  Laurel,  as  its  common  name  implies,  grows  in 
marshy  ground. 

RED   WINTERGREEN 

Pyrola  asarifolia.    Heath  Family 

Stems :  scape  six-to-twelve  flowered.  Leaves :  coriaceous,  shining  above, 
reniform,  wider  than  long,  crenulate.  Flowers:  racemose,  nodding; 
petals  five,  obtuse  ;  calyx  five-parted,  persistent,  the  lobes  triangular- 
lanceolate  ;  stamens  declined ;  style  declined  and  exserted. 

The  tall  red  stalk  of  this  Wintergreen,  with  its  numerous 
nodding  rosy  blossoms,  is  exceedingly  attractive,  especially  as 
it  grows  in  the  deep  moist  woods,  where  few  flowers  flourish 
owing  to  the  absence  of  all  sunlight.  Very  fragrant  also  is  this 
quaint  plant,  to  which  the  name  of  Wintergreen  has  been 
given  on  account  of  its  evergreen  foliage.  The  long  out- 
curved  style,  which  protrudes  far  beyond  the  floral  cup,  is 
green,  and  has  a  dull  red  stigma,  while  the  ten  stamens  are 
tipped  by  dark,  slightly  beaked  anther-sacs.  The  calyx  is  en- 
tirely of  a  deep  red  hue,  and  the  petals  are  bright  coloured  at 
the  outer  edges,  shading  into  palest  pink  in  the  centre.  The 
leaves  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  base  and  are  thick,  tough,  and 
glossy.  A  few  narrow  little  bracts  cling  to  the  flower-stalks. 

Sheltered  from  the  wind  and  the  sun,  half  hidden  by  mosses 
and  tangled  undergrowth,  but  always  preferring  a  damp  spot 


1 64  PINK  TO   RED 

to  a  dry  one,  the  Red  Wintergreen  grows  in  close  companion- 
ship with  the  lovely  One -flowered  Wintergreen,  the  Long- 
bracted  Orchis,  and  the  Butterwort ;  and  if  you  know  the 

"  Secret  paths  that  thread  the  forest  land," 

you  may  find  them  in  profusion,  mingled  at  your  feet  by  happy 
chances,  — a  gay  holiday  throng. 

BIRD'S-EYE    PRIMROSE 

Primula  far inosa.    Primrose  Family 

Leaves:  oblong,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  narrowed  at  the  base,  tapering 

into  petioles,  the  margins  crenulate.    Flowers:  umbellate;  bracts  of  the 

involucre  acute  ;  calyx-lobes  acute,  often  mealy;  corolla  salver-form,  five- 

•  cleft;  stamens  five  included  filaments  ;  anthers  very  short,  oblong,  obtuse. 

A  tall  species  of  Primrose, with  pink,  lilac,  or  very  occasionally 
white  flowers,  which  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  top  of  the  long 
stalks  and  are  salver-shaped  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  divisions  of 
the  corolla  spread  out  flat  at  the  top  of  the  tube  and  disclose 
a  yellow  eye  with  five  stamens  forming  a  dark  "pupil "  in  the 
centre  of  it.  Hence  the  name  of  Bird's-eye.  The  leaves  are 
long-shaped,  being  usually  mealy  white  beneath,  as  denoted  in 
the  term  farinosa,  and  all  grow  in  a  tuft  at  the  base  of  the 
plant,  surrounding  the  long  bare  flower-stalk,  on  the  top  of 
which  a  few  small  bracts  will  be  found  just  below  the  blossoms. 

P.  Mistassinica,  or  Dwarf  Canadian  Primrose,  is  similar  to 
the  preceding  species,  but  much  smaller,  growing  only  to  an 
average  height  of  four  inches,  whereas  P.  farinosa  is  usually 
about  ten  inches  tall.  The  tiny  leaves  are  all  set  in  a  tuft 
close  to  the  ground,  and  are  rarely  mealy  underneath  ;  while 
the  flowers  are  pale  mauvish-pink  in  colour.  Both  these  Prim- 
roses grow  in  very  wet  places.  The  generic  name,  Primula, 
refers  to  their  early  season  of  blossoming,  for,  as  the  poet  says  : 

"  Primroses,  the  spring  may  love  them, 
Summer  knows  but  little  of  them." 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  165 

SHOOTING  STAR 

Dodecatheon  pauciflorum.    Primrose  Family 

Stems:  scape  glabrous.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  entire.  Flowers:  segments 
of  the  corolla  rich  purple-pink,  the  undivided  part  yellow,  with  a  scalloped 
ring  of  deep  purple  midway  between  the  base  of  the  segments  and  the 
stamen-tube  ;  stamen-tube  yellow  ;  anthers  purple. 

From  two  to  eight  of  these  quaint  purple-pink  flowers,  each 
one  on  its  own  individual  tiny  stem,  grow  at  the  ends  of  the 
stout  main  stalks  of  the  plant.  Several  of  these  stalks  grow 
up  from  every  root.  With  their  re  flexed  petals,  resembling 
those  of  the  Cyclamen  (which  also  belongs  to  the  Primrose 
Family),  and  their  queer  little  pointed  noses,  the  Shooting 
Stars  are  rather  remarkable-looking  flowers.  They  remind 
one  of  some  bright-winged  butterfly  poised  on  the  apex  of  a 
scape.  The  leaves  all  grow  in  a  cluster  at  the  foot  of  the 
plant  and  are  long-shaped  and  tapering  towards  the  base. 
Very  occasionally  the  flowers  are  white.  The  scientific  name 
is  derived  from  the  Greek  dodeka,  "twelve,"  and  theos,  "god," 
thus  signifying  "twelve  gods."  Its  application  is  not  very  clear, 
though  Linnaeus  imagined  he  saw  in  its  umbels  of  bright 
crowned  flowers  a  little  congress  of  divinities,  and  hence 
named  it  for  an  Olympian  gathering  of  the  gods. 

RED  MONKEY-FLOWER 

Mimulus  Lewisii.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  numerous,  pubescent,  viscid.  Leaves:  oblong-ovate  to  lanceo- 
late, denticulate,  acute.  Flowers :  peduncles  longer  than  the  leaves  ;  calyx 
long,  campanulate,  its  triangular  teeth  very  acute  ;  corolla  with  broad 
throat  and  bilabiate  limb,  lobes  of  the  upper  lip  obcordate,  of  the  lower 
lip  obovate. 

A  tall  handsome  plant,  with  ample  foliage.  The  leaves  are 
sharply  toothed  at  the  edges  and  very  pointed  at  the  apex ; 
they  grow  in  pairs,  clasping  the  stem,  and  from  their  axils 


1 66  PINK  TO  RED 

spring  the  slender  flower-stalks  bearing  brilliant  magenta  blos- 
soms. Each  of  these  blossoms  has  a  long  green  calyx,  from 
out  of  which  comes  the  richly  coloured  tube,  that  spreads  open 
into  two  lips,  the  upper  one  being  reflexed  and  two-lobed  and 
the  lower  one  spreading  and  three-lobed.  The  throat  has  two 
yellow  patches  inside  and  is  covered  with  white  hairs  ;  indeed, 
the  whole  plant  is  extremely  hairy  and  sticky,  and  has  a  sweet 
sickly  smell. 

The  favourite  haunt  of  the  Red  Monkey-flower  is  some 
damp  hollow,  either  in  marshy  ground  or  on  the  banks  of  an 
alpine  stream.  Though  never  actually  growing  in  the  water,  it 
may  frequently  be  found  flourishing  luxuriantly  on  those  little 
islands  so  common  in  the  midst  of  mountain  rivers,  where, 
sheltered  by  other  large  moisture-loving  herbs,  it  attains  a 
height  of  from  one  to  two  feet. 

Mimulus  is  the  diminutive  of  the  Latin  mimus,  meaning 
"  a  mimic  actor,"  and  alludes  to  the  laughing  face  of  the  flower, 
which  appears  to  shoot  out  its  ripe  red  lips  in  mockery  at  the 
traveller  as  he  passes  by,  opening  its  mouth  in  a  droll  grimace 
that  displays  its  yellow  throat.  Hence  also  the  common  name 
Monkey-flower,  given  in  allusion  to  the  ape-like  pertness  of  the 
plant's  appearance.  Thus  man  has  set  a  "  cap  and  bells  "  upon 
the  Mimulus  and  appointed  it  buffoon  to  the  Court  of  Nature. 

RED  INDIAN  PAINT-BRUSH 

Castilleia  septentrionalis.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  simple.  Leaves:  alternate  sessile,  undulate  or  crenate,  the 
lower  ones  linear,  the  upper  ones  lanceolate,  acuminate  ;  bracts  oblong, 
oval,  obtuse,  as  long  as  the  sessile  flowers.  Flowers:  in  dense,  terminal, 
leafly-bracted  spikes  ;  corolla  tubular,  very  irregular,  not  longer  than 
the  calyx,  its  limb  bilabiate  ;  calyx  tubular,  cleft  on  both  sides  to  about 
the  middle,  usually  again  two-cleft. 

This  flower,  though  actually  of  a  pale  greenish-yellow  colour, 
is  almost  entirely  enfolded  in  a  long,  tubular,  greenish  calyx,  so 


PLATE  XLIX 


RED  MONKEY-FLOWER 
{Miimilus  Lewisif) 

167 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  169 

that  it  is  chiefly  conspicuous  by  reason  of  its  large  gorgeously 
coloured  bracts  of  pink,  rose,  scarlet,  crimson,  or  orange  (and 
sometimes  white),  and  therefore  I  have  placed  it  in.,  the  Pink 
to  Red  Section,  for  it  is  here  that  most  people  will  look  for 
it,  as  only  botanists  are  ever  likely  to  guess  that  it  is  not  in 
reality  a  gaudy  flower. 

The  Red  Indian  Paint-brush  is  the  only  alpine  wild  flower 
that  really  rivals  the  scarlet  geranium  of  our  cultivated  gardens, 
and  no  grander  sight  may  be  seen  by  travellers  than  where 
from  "tree-line,"  close  to  the  edge  of  the  eternal  snows  that 
enfold  the  towering  mountain  tops,  down  into  the  deep  green 
heart  of  the  valleys,  the  slopes  and  steeps  are  clothed  with  a 
marvellous  mantle  of  vermilion  and  golden  Castilleias.  As  the 
sunlight  flames  across  these  royal-robed  hills  every  blossom 
blooms  and  burns  with  effulgent  glory,  until 

"  Earth  's  crammed  with  Heaven, 
And  every  common  bush  afire  with  God." 

No  words  can  describe  the  brilliant  beauty  of  such  a  scene, 
far  from  uncommon  at  the  higher  altitudes,  where  many  species 
of  Castilleia  thrive  abundantly,  and  you  may  walk  for  miles 
across  meadows  and  banks  whereon  the  Paint-brushes  and 
Painted-cups  (or  Flame-flowers,  as  they  are  sometimes  called) 
run  riot  in  magnificent  profusion.  Every  colour,  every  shade 
from  coral  pink  to  cardinal,  from  canary  tint  to  tangerine,  is  grow- 
ing and  blowing  on  either  hand,  with  here  and  there  a  single 
snowy  spike  to  emphasize  the  splendid  conflagration  of  colour. 

It  is  wonderful  to  note  that  all  this  carmine  and  gold  is  not 
lavished  on  the  corolla  of  the  flower  at  all,  but  only  on  the 
bracts,  which  are  set  below  each  insignificant  blossom,  from 
whose  cleft  tube  the  long  pistil  protrudes.  The  plant  grows 
from  six  inches  to  two  feet  high  and  the  leaves  have  wavy  or 
scalloped  margins. 

The  Castilleias  are  parasitic  on  the  roots  of  other  plants; 
that  is  to  say,  they  sometimes  fasten  their  roots  upon  those 


170  PINK  TO  RED 

of  their  neighbours  and  thus  prey  upon  juices  already  partially 
assimilated.  They  have  not,  however,  as  yet  become  hardened 
thieves ;  if  they  had,  they  would  have  lost  their  leaves  and  green 
colouring  matter  (chlorophyll),  for  every  plant  that  turns  pirate 
is  punished  by  Nature,  and  branded  for  all  the  world  to  see, 
by  being  gradually  deprived  of  its  foliage  and  its  honest  hue. 
But  the  Castilleia  is  only  guilty  of  petty  larceny,  being  but  a 
partial  parasite,  and  so  far  it  is  the  botanist,  and  not  Nature, 
who  has  denounced  its  backsliding. 

C.  pallida,  or  White  Indian  Paint-brush,  much  resembles 
the  preceding  species,  but  its  flowers  and  bracts  are  always 
greenish-white,  cream  colour,  or  palest  yellow.  It  is  a  small 
short  plant,  with  slender  stems  and  tiny  narrow  leaves,  and  it 
only- grows  at  very  high  altitudes. 

Though  this  species  properly  belongs  in  the  White  to  Green 
Section,  it  is  placed  here  for  greater  convenience. 

BRIGHT  PAINTED-CUP 

Castilleia  miniata.    Figwort  Family 

Stems :  numerous  and  tufted  on  a  short  rootstock,  mostly  simple  and 
strict.  Leaves :  lanceolate  or  ovate-lanceolate,  acute,  entire.  Flowers :  spikes 
short  and  dense  ;  corolla  long ;  galea  exserted,  longer  than  the  tube,  the 
short  lower  lip  protuberant  and  callous  with  short,  ovate,  involute  teeth. 

The  leaves  of  the  Bright  Painted -cup  are  entire;  that  is  to 
say,  their  margins  form  an  unbroken  line  and  are  not  wavy, 
nor  have  they  uneven  rounded  teeth  like  those  of  C.  septen- 
trionalis.  The  corolla  is  very  pale  in  colour,  but  the  bracts 
are  nearly  always  red  or  magenta. 

Thoreau  speaks  thus  of  the  prairie  species : 

"  The  Painted-cup  is  in  its  prime.  It  reddens  the  meadow,  —  Painted- 
cup  meadow.  It  is  a  splendid  show  of  brilliant  scarlet,  the  colour  of 
the  Cardinal  Flower,  and  surpassing  it  in  mass  and  profusion.  I  do 
not  like  the  name.  It  does  not  remind  me  of  a  cup,  rather  of  a  flame 
when  it  first  appears.  It  might  be  called  Flame-flower,  or  Scarlet-tip. 
Here  is  a  large  meadow  full  of  it,  and  yet  very  few  in  the  town  have 


PLATE  L 


WOOD  BETONY 
(Pedicularis  bracteosa) 


171 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  173 

ever  seen  it.  It  is  startling  to  see  a  leaf  thus  brilliantly  painted,  as  if 
its  tip  were  dipped  into  some  scarlet  tincture  surpassing  most  flowers 
in  intensity  of  colour." 

These  words  are  equally  applicable  to  the  mountain  Cas- 
tilleias.  Truly  the  glorious  flower-spikes  of  the  Paint-brushes 
and  Painted-cups  are  like  tongues  of  flame  that  run  burning 
through  the  herbage  of  the  hillsides. 

"  Scarlet  tufts 
Are  glowing  in  the  green  like  flakes  of  fire." 

And  when  we  see  them  in  their  royal  radiance  we  remem- 
ber how  the  ancients  once  worshipped  the  God  of  Fire  —  and 
understand. 

C.  Bradburii)  or  Bradbury's  Painted-cup,  may  be  recog- 
nized by  its  leaves,  which  are  large  and  cleft  above  the  middle 
into  three  or  five  unequal  lobes,  the  centre  one  being  oblong 
and  rounded  at  the  apex,  and  the  lateral  ones  narrower. 

"  Flowers  that  with  one  scarlet  gleam 
Cover  a  hundred  leagues,  and  seem 
To  set  the  hills  on  fire." 

LONG-BEAKED  PEDICULARIS 

Pedicularis  Groenlandica.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  simple,  erect.  Leaves:  alternate,  lanceolate  in  outline,  acute, 
pinnately  parted  into  lanceolate  incised  segments,  the  lower  petioled, 
the  upper  sessile.  Flowers:  spike  very  dense,  long;  calyx  five-toothed; 
corolla  the  galea  produced  into  a  filiform  beak. 

This  Pedicularis  has  slender,  rather  brittle,  red  stalks,  which 
are  clothed  with  many  small,  fern-like,  reddish  leaves,  and  a 
group  of  tall  fringed  foliage  grows  up  about  it  from  the  ground. 
It  is  a  tall  plant,  often  attaining  a  height  of  eighteen  inches, 
and  its  terminal  spikes  are  long  and  densely  flowered  with 
tiny  dull  red  blossoms,  which  have  a  toothed  calyx  that  is 
nearly  as  long  as  the  tooth  of  the  corolla.  The  corolla  is  two- 
lipped,  the  upper  lip,  or  galea,  being  concave  and  having  a 
long  thread-like  beak,  while  the  lower  one  is  three-lobed. 


174  PINK  TO  RED 

WOOD  BETONY 

Pedicularis  bracteosa.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  stout,  high,  erect,  simple.  Leaves:  linear  in  outline,  the  radical 
ones  petioled,  pinnate,  the  oblong  leaflets  pinnately  parted,  the  segments 
incisely  dentate,  cauline  broader  in  outline;  bracts  ovate,  shorter  than 
the  flowers.  Flowers :  spike  cylindrical,  very  dense  ;  calyx  sparsely  pil- 
lose ;  corolla  ochroleucous,  the  tube  equalling  the  calyx ;  galea  longer 
and  larger  than  the  lower  lip,  its  cucullate  summit  slightly  produced  at 
the  entire  edentulate  orifice,  but  not  beaked. 

A  tall  coarse  plant,  with  handsome,  green,  fern-like  foliage, 
but  clumsy  uninteresting  flowers.  On  the  top  of  the  stout 
reddish  stems  grow  large,  hairy,  bracted  spikes,  with  many 
small  dull  red  flowers,  which  resemble  a  parrot's  beak,  with 
their  raised  hooded  upper  lips  and  small  lower  ones.  These 
flowers  are  subtended  by  conspicuous  bracts,  hence  the  name 
bracteosa. 

The  Romans  had  a  proverb,  "  Sell  your  coat  and  buy 
Betony,"  and  another  old  saying  was,  "  May  you  have  more 
virtues  than  Betony."  Antoninus  Musa,  physician  to  the 
Emperor  Augustus,  wrote  in  high  praise  of  its  powers,  stat- 
ing that  it  would  cure  forty-seven  of  the  ills  to  which  human 
flesh  is  heir. 

Franzins,  in  his  History  of  Brutes,  alludes  to  its  healing 
virtues  for  animals.  He  says  of  the  stag,  "When  he  is 
wounded  with  a  dart,  the  only  cure  he  hath  is  to  eate  some 
of  the  herbe  called  Betony,  which  helpeth  both  to  draw  out 
the  dart  and  to  heale  the  wound." 

Sir  William  Hooker  is  our  authority  for  saying  that  the 
common  name  is  a  corruption  of  Bentonic>  ben  meaning 
"head,"  and  ton  "good  "  or  "tonic." 


PLATE  LI 


FLY-SPOTTED  ORCHIS 

(Orchis  rotundifolia) 

175 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  177 

CALYPSO 

Calypso  borealis.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  with  two  or  three  membranaceous  sheaths,  and  a  linear  bract 
at  the  summit.  Leaves:  leaf  solitary,  broadly  ovate,  petioled.  Flowers: 
drooping,  pedicelled ;  sepals  and  petals  lanceolate,  acuminate,  long  lip 
inflated,  saccate,  with  two  short  spurs  below  the  apex. 

A  solid  bulb  and  coralloid  roots,  a  single  stem  sheathed  by 
two  or  three  loose  brownish-green  scales  and  surmounted  by 
a  single  narrow  bract,  a  solitary  broad  leaf  at  the  base,  and  a 
single  lovely  mauvish-pink  orchid  blooming  at  the  summit,  — 
such  is  the  Calypso. 

The  sepals  and  petals  of  this  dainty  flower  are  like  fairy 
wings,  its  large  sac,  striped  and  mottled  with  deep  rose  colour 
and  variegated  with  yellow  spots,  tufted  by  fine  white  hairs, 
resembling  the  body  of  some  gay  insect ;  thus  the  blossom 
appears  to  be  poised  lightly  upon  its  stem  like  a  beautiful 
butterfly  ready  to  flutter  away  at  our  approach.  This  effect 
is  heightened  by  the  fact  that  it  grows  in  the  deep  cool  for- 
ests, where  its  exquisite  fragrant  flowers  form  the  only  spots 
of  vivid  colour  and  where  it  is  sheltered  by  the  vines  and 
mosses  that  cluster  together  in  those  damp  shady  places  that 
are  the  favourite  haunts  of  this  orchid. 

When  Mrs.  Hemans  wrote 

"  There  's  not  a  flower  but  shows  some  touch, 
In  freckle,  freck,  or  stain, 
Of  His  unrivalled  pencil," 

she  must  have  had  in  mind  the  marvellous  painted  slipper  of 
the  Calypso,  for  its  delicate  veinings  in  finely  pencilled  pat- 
tern are  surely  the  wonderful  work  of  the  Great  Master-hand. 
The  name  Calypso  denotes  that  the  plant  is  dedicated  to 
the  ancient  goddess  of  that  name. 


1 78  PINK  TO  RED 

FLY-SPOTTED  ORCHIS 

Orchis  rotundifolia.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  slender.  Leaves:  leaf  solitary,  orbicular  to  oval,  with  one  or  two 
sheathing  scales  below  it.  Flowers:  spike  two-to-ten  flowered,  subtended 
by  small  bracts  ;  sepals  lateral  ones  spreading ;  petals  similar  to  the 
sepals ;  lip  longer  than  the  petals,  three-lobed,  the  middle  lobe  larger, 
dilated,  notched  at  the  apex ;  spur  slender,  shorter  than  the  lip. 

A  lovely  pale  pink  orchis,  with  a  single  roundish  leaf  grow- 
ing at  the  base  and  roots  composed  of  fleshy  fibres.  The 
clusters  of  flowers  are  slightly  fragrant.  Each  blossom  has 
a  large,  protruding,  flat  lip  of  palest  pink,  spotted  with  rose 
or  purple,  and  divided  into  three  lobes,  the  centre  one  being 
notched.  A  wing-like  sepal  stands  out  on  either  side,  and 
the  small  petals  and  sepals  are  all  pink,  the  arched  petal  that 
is  bent  down  over  the  stamens  being  spotted  with  rose-purple 
like  the  lip.  It  is  found  in  moist  places  and  grows  to  full  per- 
fection where  very  wet  ground  combined  with  a  full  exposure 
to  the  sun  is  possible. 

PINK  LADY'S  SLIPPER 

Cypripedium  acaule.    Orchid  Family 

Stems:  scape  pubescent.  Leaves:  two  large  basal  ones  elliptic,  thick, 
one  small  leaf  on  scape.  Flowers:  solitary;  sepals  lance-shaped,  spread- 
ing, the  two  lateral  ones  united  under  the  lip;  lip  very  large  inflated  sac, 
pink  with  rose  veins,  the  upper  interior  crested  with  long  white  hairs. 

A  rare  treasure,  so  beautiful  in  hue,  so  very  fragrant!  Only 
a  single  drooping  flower  grows  at  the  top  of  each  scape,  hav- 
ing a  large  pink  sac  that  is  split  open  in  front  and  merely 
folded  close  together,  in  which  particular  it  differs  from  the 
yellow  and  the  white  species.  A  long  narrow  sepal  spreads 
out  on  either  side  of  the  lip,  and  both  the  sepals  and  petals 
are  greenish  or  purplish. 

"  Graceful  and  tall,  the  slender  drooping  stem, 

With  two  broad  leaves  below, 
Shapely  the  flower  so  lightly  poised  between, 
And  warm  her  rosy  glow." 


PLATE  LII 


PINK  GARLIC 

(A Ilium  recttrvatum] 


179 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  l8l 

This  verse  aptly  describes  the  fragrant  Pink  Lady's  Slipper, 
or  Moccasin  Flower,  as  it  is  often  called, — a  rare  species  which 
is  absolutely  unmistakable,  if  only  by  reason  of  its  sweet 
odour  and  rich  and  lovely  hue.  The  stamens  are  united  in  a 
declined  column,  carrying  an  anther  on  either  side,  and  there 
is  a  long,  triangular,  dilated,  sterile  stamen  arching  over  the 
summit  of  the  broad  three-lobed  stigma. 

The  name  Cypripedium  comes  from  the  Greek,  and  means 
Venus's  sock  or  buskin.  Truly  this  lovely  pink  slipper  is  fit 
to  adorn  the  foot  of  the  Queen  of  Beauty. 


PINK  TWISTED-STALK 

Streptopus  roseus.    Lily  Family 

Stems :  from  a  short  stout  rootstock  covered  with  fibrous  roots,  simple 
or  sparingly  branched.  Leaves :  lanceolate  to  ovate,  abruptly  acuminate, 
sessile  by  a  broad,  rounded,  clasping  base,  the  margins  finely  ciliate. 
Flowers:  peduncled,  segments  of  the  perianth  lanceolate,  the  tips  spread- 
ing. Fruit :  a  red  oval  berry. 

This  plant  is  a  near  relation  of  5.  amplexifolius  described 
in  the  White  to  Green  Section.  It  differs  from  the  forego- 
ing, however,  in  several  essential  particulars.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  a  smaller  plant,  has  dull  purple-pink  pendent  bells, 
and  is  nearly  always  one-flowered.  Then,  too,  the  tiny  pedun- 
cles are  not  sharply  twisted  as  in  5.  amplexifolius,  but  bend 
downwards  in  a  graceful  curve.  The  rosy-hued  bells  are  quite 
hidden  beneath  the  leaves  and  may  be  seen  only  when  the 
long  stems  are  turned  over.  These  bells  are  streaked  outside 
and  lined  inside  with  deep  rose  colour. 

There  are  two  other  species  of  Pink  Twisted-stalk  in  the 
mountains,  —one  called  S.cnrvipes,  or  Curved  Twisted-stalk, 
and  the  other  5.  brevipes,  or  Short-stemmed  Twisted-stalk,  a 
very  small  plant  which  commonly  grows  far  west. 


1 82  WHITE  TO  GREEN 

PINK  GARLIC 

A  Ilium  recurvatum.    Lily  Family 

Bulbs  clustered  on  a  short  rootstock,  narrowly  ovoid,  with  a  long 
neck.  Stems:  scape  slender.  Leaves:  linear,  channelled,  or  nearly  flat. 
Flowers:  umbel  many-flowered,  nodding,  subtended  by  two  short  decid- 
uous bracts ;  perianth  segments  ovate,  acute  ;  stamens  and  style  exserted. 

These  clusters  of  tiny  pink  flowers,  which  grow  on  long 
slender  stalks  that  bend  over  abruptly  at  the  top  (hence  the 
name  recurvatuni],  are  characteristically  odorous,  as  may  be 
readily  understood,  since  allium  is  the  Latin  for  "garlic." 
From  ten  to  forty  flowers  form  the  umbel  upon  each  stalk, 
and  both  the  awl-shaped  stamens  and  the  style  protrude  far 
beyond  the  segments  of  the  perianth. 

The  leaves  are  long  and  extremely  narrow,  in  fact  grass- 
like,  being  channelled  or  flat  and  terminating  either  in  a  blunt 
or  a  fine  point. 


MOUNTAIN  WILD  FLOWERS 
OF  AiMERICA 

SECTION   III 
BLUE  TO  PURPLE   FLOWERS 


SECTION  III 
BLUE  TO  PURPLE  FLOWERS 


Flowers  that  are  blue  to  purple,  or  occasionally  so,  but  not 
described  in  this  Section 

PAGE 

Wild  Heliotrope  ....     Valeriana  sylvatica  (White  to  Green  Section)     ...     67 
White  Heliotrope     .     .     .     Valeriana  sitchensts  (White  to  Green  Section)    ...     67 


WILD   CLEMATIS 

Clematis  Columbiana.     Crowfoot  Family 

A  trailing  and  partly  climbing  vine.  Leaves:  trifoliolate  ;  leaflets  thin, 
ovate,  acute,  more  or  less  cordate,  slightly  toothed  or  entire  ;  petioles 
slender.  Flowers :  solitary  ;  sepals  thin  and  translucent,  strongly  veined, 
silky  along  the  margins  and  the  veins ;  petals  spatulate  ;  styles  per- 
sistent, plumose  throughout. 

The  large  lovely  flowers  of  the  Wild  Clematis  are  attract- 
ive by  reason  of  their  four  or  five  big  purple-blue  sepals,  for 
their  petals  are  very  small  and  inconspicuous,  surrounding  the 
numerous  yellow  stamens.  When  in  fruit  this  plant  is  also  in- 
teresting, as  the  fine  feathery  styles  form  silvery  heads,  the 
long  plumes  of  which  are  delicately  entwined. 

Its  slender  leaf -stalks  are  the  means  by  which  the  Clematis 
climbs  and  clings  to  bushes,  trees,  and  rocks,  festooning  with 
graceful  garlands  everything  that  comes  in  its  way  and  delight- 
ing the  traveller's  eye  with  its  wide-spread,  semi-transparent, 
prominently  veined  flowers.  The  leaves  are  formed  of  three 
small,  deeply  veined  leaflets,  which  grow  on  slim,  rather 
woody  stems. 

185 


1 86  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

This  plant  is  a  constant  ornament  to  the  alpine  woods  during 
the  summer  months,  for  when  its  true  flowering  season  is 
past  the  pretty  green  foliage  and  large  tufts  of  feathery  seeds 
still  render  it  an  object  of  admiration. 


PASQUE   FLOWER 

Anemone  Nuttalliana.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  erect,  villous  with  long  silky  hairs.  Leaves  :  ternately  divided, 
the  lateral  divisions  two-parted,  the  middle  one  stalked  and  three-parted, 
the  segments  deeply  cleft  into  linear  acute  lobes.  Flowers:  developed 
before  the  leaves ;  sepals  five  to  seven ;  petals  none.  Fruit :  achenes 
compressed,  pointed,  ending  in  long  feathery  tails. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  large  purple  Anemone 
is  that  it  blossoms  before  its  foliage  is  developed.  Frequently 
you  will  find  lovely  specimens  of  these  flowers  in  full  bloom, 
standing  up  very  straight  on  their  thick  downy  stalks,  while 
the  leaves,  which  are  finely  dissected,  are  still  folded  up  in 
soft  silkiness  about  the  base  of  the  plant.  The  five  to  seven 
sepals  are  pale  purple  outside,  but  almost  white  inside,  and 
are  extremely  soft  and  silky,  while  below  them  on  the  stalk 
grows  a  circle  of  very  hairy  leaflets.  Inside  the  floral  cup  are 
numerous  yellow  stamens  clustered  close  together  round  the 
green  carpels. 

As  time  passes  the  stalks  elongate,  the  purple  flowers  fall 
off,  and  the  seeds  are  formed.  Then  the  heads  present  a  lovely 
plumose  appearance,  for  to  each  seed  is  attached  a  long  silky 
tail,  the  whole  forming  a  pretty  feathery  tuft. 


PLATE  LIII 


1    « 

W     "?» 

3? 

3  '1 

" 


187 


PLATE  LIV 


PASQUE  FLOWER 

{Anemone  ATuttalliana) 


189 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS 


191 


BLUE   COLUMBINE 

Aquilegia  brevistyla.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  slender,  erect,  branching.  Leaves  :  basal  ones  biternate,  lobed 
and  crenate;  stem-leaves  few,  nearly  sessile.  Flowers:  small,  nodding, 
blue  and  white  ;  spurs  short. 

The  smallest  of  the  mountain  Columbines,  it  may  easily  be 
recognized  by  its  mauvish-blue  and  creamy  blossoms  and  its 
very  short  styles.  It  is  a  more  compact  and  therefore  less 
graceful  flower  than  A.  formosa  or  A.  flavescens. 

The  Columbine  was  first  introduced  into  England  from 
the  Virginia  Colony  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I,  when  a  young 
botanist  sent  it  as  a  gift  to  the  great  Tradescant,  gardener 
and  herbalist  to  the  King. 

MOUNTAIN    LARKSPUR 
Delphinium  Brownii.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  tall  from  a  fascicle  of  thick  roots.  Leaves :  numerous,  mostly 
orbicular  in  outline,  five-to-seven  parted,  the  lower  into  cuneate  and  the 
upper  into  narrower-cleft  and  laciniate  divisions,  petioled.  Flowers: 
racemes  many-flowered  on  short  erect  pedicels. 

The  tall  Mountain  Larkspur  is  a  very  handsome  plant.  It 
is  nearly  always  a  rich  purple  hue,  but  very  occasionally  it 
bears  white  or  pinkish-mauve  blossoms.  Standing  from  one  to 
six  feet  high,  these  Delphiniums  (so  called  from  their  fancied 
resemblance  to  a  dolphin)  may  be  found  in  immense  quanti- 
ties in  the  high  alpine  meadows,  their  long  flower  racemes 
towering  up  above  a  mass  of  deeply  cleft  dark  green  foliage. 
Each  flower  grows  on  a  tiny  upright  stalk  attached  to  the  main 
stem,  and  has  four  small  whitish  petals,  the  upper  pair  smooth 
and  developed  backwards,  and  enclosed  in  the  spur  of  the 
calyx,  and  the  two  lower  ones  deeply  notched  and  very  hairy. 
The  sepals  are  five  in  number  and  of  a  lovely  intense  blue 
colour;  the  top  one  is  prolonged  at  the  back  into  a  hollow 
spur,  and  the  others  are  plain. 


192  BLUE  TO   PURPLE 

This  plant  is  also  called  Monkshood,  the  reason  wherefor 
may  readily  be  seen. 

D.  Columbianitm,  or  Blue  Larkspur,  is  a  smaller  species 
growing  only  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  high  and  having  few 
leaves  and  fewer  flowers  on  its  hairy  stems.  Though  usually 

"  Blue  as  the  heaven  it  gazes  at," 

this   Larkspur  has  sometimes   white  blossoms   marked   with 
purple  veins. 

EARLY   BLUE   VIOLET 

Viola  cognata.    Violet  Family 

Acaulescent.  Rootstocks  short  and  thick.  Leaves:  long-petioled,  cor- 
date, with  a  broad  sinus,  the  early  ones  reniform,  the  later  ones  acute  or 
acuminate,  crenately  toothed.  Flowers:  large;  petals  villous  at  base; 
spur  saccate. 

This  large  Early  Violet  is  really  of  a  true  violet  colour, 
though  it  is  commonly  called  "Blue";  it  grows  most  luxuri- 
antly in  very  moist  ground,  usually  on  the  low  banks  of  streams 
or  in  the  marshes,  for  it  is  there  that 

"  The  purple  violets  lurk, 
With  all  the  lovely  children  of  the  shade." 

Poets  have  ever  loved  and  praised  the  Violet.     The  Bard  of 

Avon  sang  of  how 

"  Violets  blue, 

And  lady-smocks  all  silver  white, 
And  cuckoo-buds  of  yellow  hue 
Do  paint  the  meadows  with  delight  "  ; 

later  causing  Oberon  to  relate  : 

"  I  know  a  bank  whereon  the  wild  thyme  blows, 
Where  ox-lips  and  the  nodding  violet  grows." 

Milton  told  of  the 

"  Violet  embroidered  vale  "  ; 


PLATE  LV 


MOUNTAIN  LARKSPUR 
(Delphinium  Brownii) 


193 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


PLATE  LVI 


J95 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  197 

and  Scott  claimed  that 

"  The  violet  in  her  greenwood  bower, 

Where  birchen  boughs  with  hazel  mingle, 
May  boast  herself  the  fairest  flower 
In  forest  glade  or  copse  wood  dingle." 

Long  before  Shakespeare's  day,  however,  the  ancient 
Arabians  sang  its  praise.  It  was  the  favourite  flower  of 
Mahomet,  just  as  it  was  that  of  Napoleon  in  modern  times, 
and  has  since  become  the  emblem  of  the  Bonapartists,  who 
still  wear  it  as  a  token  of  their  devotion  to  a  lost  cause, 
remembering,  perhaps,  Shakespeare's  proverb  that 

"  Violet  is  for  faithfulness." 

No  legitimist  in  France  will  ever  wear  these  flowers. 

The  Early  Blue  Violet  has  five  large  petals  that  are  hairy 
at  the  base,  the  lower  one  being  marked  with  a  tiny,  dark- 
veined  yellowish-white  patch  on  its  face,  and  protruding  at 
the  back  into  a  small  rounded  spur.  The  leaves  are  broad 
and  conspicuously  veined,  many  of  them  being  folded  inwards 
when  young. 

V.  adunca,  or  Dog  Violet,  is  a  smaller  dark  purple  or  white 
species  which  grows  on  dry  ground  and  sends  out  runners 
that  bear  many  blossoms. 


MOSS   CAMPION 

Silene  acaulis.    Pink  Family 

Closely  cespitose,  one  to  two  inches  high.  Leaves:  linear,  crowded. 
Flowers:  small,  solitary,  subsessile  or  slightly  raised  on  naked  curved 
peduncles  ;  calyx  narrowly  campanulate  ;  petals  purple  or  white,  ob- 
cordate. 

The  Moss  Campion  will  only  be  found  by  those  who  climb 
to  great  altitudes,  for  it  always  grows  near  the  highest  sum- 
mits of  the  mountains  and  has  been  discovered  at  the  immense 
elevation  of  10,000  feet.  It  is  a  dwarf  arctic-alpine  plant. 


198  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

The  tiny  leaves,  which  are  very  numerous  and  extremely 
narrow  and  pointed,  distinguish  it  from  Saxifraga  oppositi- 
folia,  or  Mountain  Saxifrage  (see  page  213),  which  has  similar 
flowers  but  distinctly  broader  leaves. 

Close  to  the  eternal  snows,  where  the  last  line  of  vegetation 
grows  prostrate  upon  the  earth,  so  rare  the  air,  so  scarce  and 
poor  the  soil, 

"  There,  cleaving  to  the  ground,  it  lies 
With  multitude  of  purple  eyes 
Spangling  a  cushion  green  like  moss." 

Surely  Wordsworth  must  have  found  the  Moss  Campion 
amongst  his  beloved  Grasmere  Hills,  otherwise  he  could  not 
have  penned  so  perfect  a  description  of  its  starry  flowers  with 
their  five  purple  or  very  occasionally  white  petals  wide-blown 
by  the  mountain  breeze. 

The  Moss  Campion  has  a  very  large  tap-root,  and  springing 
from  it  are  the  slender  branching  stems,  which  form  dense  tufts 
from  six  to  twenty  inches  in  diameter  and  resemble  a  coarse 
moss.  Down  into  these  tufts  the  flowers  are  closely  set. 

WILD   FLAX 

Linum  Leivisii.    Flax  Family 

Stems:  slender,  erect.  Leaves:  crowded,  sessile,  oval-linear,  acute. 
Flowers :  on  long  pedicels ;  sepals  oval,  obtuse  ;  petals  five,  large,  blue, 
fugacious. 

A  slender  dainty  plant,  which  bends  and  bows  to  every 
passing  breeze,  and  bears  terminal  clusters  as  well  as  racemes 
of  lovely  cerulean  flowers. 

"  Blue  were  her  eyes  as  the  fairy  flax," 

wrote  Longfellow,  and  if  you  once  see  the  wonderful  blue 
of  these  blossoms  you  will  well  understand  the  compliment 
intended,  for  they  are  a  marvellous  colour,  and  so  frail  and 
translucent  that  they  wither  at  a  single  touch,  while  the  deli- 
cately veined  petals  fall  almost  as  soon  as  they  develop  into 


PLATE  LVII 


WILD  FLAX 
(Linum  Lewisii) 

199 


PLATE  LVIII 


ASCENDING  VETCH 
(Astragalus  adsurgens) 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  203 

the  perfect  flowers ;  the  stems,  on  the  contrary,  though  slim, 
are  remarkably  tough.  A  really  blue  flower  is  a  rarity  in 
the  mountains.  There  are  many  mauves,  heliotropes,  violets, 
purples,  and  lilacs,  but  few  true  blues. 

The  word  linum  comes  from  the  Celtic  word  tin,  meaning 
"  thread,"  and  from  it  also  is  derived  the  English  word  "  linen," 
together  with  all  its  variations.  The  seeds  of  the  Flax  con- 
tain oil. 

ASCENDING  VETCH 

Astragalus  adsurgens.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  rather  stout,  ascending  or  decumbent.  Leaves:  odd-pinnate; 
leaflets  oval  to  linear-oblong,  obtuse,  fifteen  to  twenty-five,  peduncles 
exceeding  the  leaves.  Flowers:  erect,  in  short  dense  spikes  ;  tube  of  the 
calyx  long-campanulate,  twice  as  long  as  the  setaceous  teeth,  subvillous 
with  partly  black  hairs;  petals  clawed;  standard  erect,  ovate;  wings 
oblong  ;  keel  obtuse.  Fruit :  pods  erect,  sessile,  coriaceous. 

This  is  a  common  species  of  purple  Vetch  in  the  mountain 
regions.  It  has  much  foliage,  composed  of  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  tiny  oblong  leaflets  borne  on  each  of  the  leaf -stalks, 
which  branch  from  the  main  stems.  The  flowers  grow  in  dense 
roundish  heads,  and  the  little  leaflets  are  rounded  and  entire 
at  the  apex. 

Each  individual  flower,  like  many  of  those  of  the  Pea  Family, 
is  composed  of  five  irregular  petals,  the  large  upper  one,  called 
the  standard,  being  turned  backwards  when  in  full  bloom,  and 
the  two  side  ones  forming  wings,  while  the  two  lower  ones  are 
united  to  form  a  kind  of  pouch,  called  the  keel,  which  encloses 
the  stamens  and  style. 

The  traveller  will  note  that  an  easy  way  to  distinguish 
Astragalus  adsurgens  from  Oxytropis  viscida  (which  it  much 
resembles)  is  by  observing  two  things.  In  the  first  place,  the 
flower-stalks  of  the  Astragalus  branch  out  from  all  parts  of  the 
main  stems  of  the  plant,  together  with  the  leaf -stalks  ;  whereas 
the  flower-stalks  of  the  Oxytropis  are  naked  and  grow  directly 


204  BLUE  TO   PURPLE 

up  from  the  base  of  the  plant.  In  the  second  place,  the  keel 
of  the  Astragalus  flower  is  rounded,  whereas  that  of  the  Oxy- 
tropis  is  very  pointed. 

A.  hypoglottis,  or  Purple  Vetch,  very  closely  resembles  the 
preceding  species,  but  may  be  distinguished  from  it  by  the  fact 
that  its  leaflets  are  indented  or  notched  at  the  tips,  whereas 
those  of  the  Ascending  Vetch  are  slightly  rounded  and  per- 
fectly entire. 

A.  alpinus,  or  Alpine  Vetch,  is  a  dainty  pale  mauve  species, 
with  small  loosely  flowered  heads  and  delicate  foliage.  It  is 
frequently  found  at  very  high  altitudes. 

A.  Macoimii,  or  JMacoun's  Vetch,  is  a  tali  plant  with  sparse 
foliage  and  a  few  long  loosely  flowered  heads  of  pale  mauve, 
or  white  tinged  and  edged  with  mauve.  The  stems  grow  very 
erect  and  are  quite  slender.  It  usually  is  found  in  rocky  places. 

A.  convallarius,  or  Slender  Vetch,  is  a  lovely  fragile  species, 
quite  unmistakable  by  reason  of  its  very  fine  grass-like  stems, 
tiny,  narrow,  silky  leaflets,  and  little,  scanty,  pinkish-mauve 
blossoms,  that  grow  far  apart  in  long  slender  racemes,  giving 
the  plant  a  beautiful  feathery  appearance. 

INFLATED    OXYTROPE 

Oxytropis  podocarpa.     Pea  Family 

Acaulescent,  or  nearly  so,  villous-pubescent.  Leaves:  pinnate;  leaflets 
linear,  obtuse.  Flowers:  peduncles  one-to-two  flowered,  scarcely  exceed- 
ing the  leaves  ;  calyx  densely  dark-pubescent ;  petals  clawed  ;  standard 
erect ;  wings  oblong ;  keel  erect,  its  apex  mucronate.  Fruit :  pods  much 
inflated,  ovoid,  sessile  in  the  calyx. 

An  arctic  and  alpine  plant,  which  grows  only  from  one  to 
four  inches  high  and  has  violet  flowers  and  tiny  very  hairy 
stalks  and  leaves.  The  main  stems  grow  partly  underground 
and  are  imbricated,  —  that  is  to  say,  they  are  covered  with 
numerous  small  overlapping  leaves  ;  but  the  pods  are  the  most 
noticeable  feature,  being  abnormally  large  and  inflated.  This 
plant  is  frequently  found  growing  flat  upon  the  ground. 


PLATE  LIX 


\ 


pg 


ALPINE  VETCH 
(Astragalus  alpiuus) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  207 

ALPINE  OXYTROPE 

Oxytropis  viscida.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  viscid-pubescent.  Leaves:  odd-pinnate  ;  leaflets  in  numerous 
pairs,  oblong-lanceolate,  somewhat  acute.  Flowers:  peduncles  longer 
than  the  leaves  ;  spikes  subcylindrical ;  teeth  of  the  calyx  subulate,  about 
the  length  of  the  tube ;  legumes  short,  terete,  acuminate. 

As  remarked  before,  Oxytropis  differs  from  Astragalus 
in  having  flowers  with  very  pointed  keels  and  long  naked 
flower-stalks  that  grow  up  directly  from  the  base  of  the  plant ; 
also  its  flower-spikes  are  more  elongated  than  those  of  the 
Ascending  and  Purple  Vetches,  which  are  roundish.  The 
Alpine  Oxytrope  is  a  hairy,  rather  sticky  plant,  and  bears 
blossoms  of  many  shades  of  gray-blue,  violet,  mauve,  purple, 
and  creamy  white. 

SHOWY  OXYTROPE 

Oxytropis  splendens.    Pea  Family 

Densely  silvery,  silky  villous,  acaulescent,  tufted.  Leaves:  long,  erect ; 
leaflets  very  numerous.  Flowers:  in  dense  spikes;  peduncles  exceeding 
the  leaves.  Fruit:  pods  ovoid,  erect. 

This  plant  is  rightly  named  the  Showy  Oxytrope,  for  its 
handsome  bright  purple-blue  or  purple-pink  flowers,  growing 
in  dense  spikes  on  the  top  of  the  long  straight  stalks,  and  its 
quantity  of  silvery  silky  foliage  render  it  a  remarkably  hand- 
some member  of  the  Pea  Family.  The  whole  plant,  including 
the  stalks,  leaves,  and  calyx,  is  extremely  woolly. 

PURPLE  HEDYSARUM 

Hedysarum  boreale.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  erect,  glabrous,  generally  simple.  Leaves:  odd-pinnate,  short- 
petioled ;  leaflets  oblong,  obtuse,  and  often  mucronate  at  the  apex. 
Flowers :  in  long  loose  racemes,  deflexed. 

A  tall  purple  species  of  Hedysarum  with  very  narrow  loosely 
flowered  racemes  and  rather  large  leaflets.  The  white  species, 


208  BLUE  TO   PURPLE 

H.  boreale  var.  albiflorum,  referred  to  in  the  White  to  Green 
Section,  bears  rather  finer  blossoms,  its  racemes  being  more 
closely  flowered.  In  Plate  LX  the  tall  flower  in  the  centre  is 
the  White  Hedysarum,  the  one  to  the  left  being  a  specimen 
of  the  Purple  Hedysarum. 

COW  VETCH 

Vicia  Cracca.    Pea  Family 

Stems:  tufted,  slender,  weak,  climbing  or  trailing.  Leaves:  pinnate, 
tendril-bearing,  nearly  sessile  ;  leaflets  eighteen  to  twenty-four,  linear, 
obtuse,  mucronate  ;  peduncles  axillary.  Flowers :  in  spike-like  dense 
racemes,  reflexed.  Not  indigenous. 

A  lovely  climbing  or  trailing  Vetch,  with  dense  spike-like 
racemes  of  deep  purple-blue  flowers  and  quantities  of  delicate 
foliage  ;  the  leaves,  which  are  pinnately  divided  into  numerous 
tiny  leaflets,  having  thread-like  tendrils  at  their  tips. 

V.  Americana,  or  American  Vetch,  has  the  same  nearly 
sessile  pinnate  leaves  and  slender  weak  stems  as  the  preced- 
ing species.  It  also  climbs  and  trails  over  every  bush  and  shrub 
in  its  vicinity,  clinging  to  them  by  means  of  its  tiny  tendrils; 
but  it  differs  entirely  from  V.  Cracca  in  its  flowers,  which  are 
larger,  more  mauve  in  hue,  and  grow  in  a  scanty,  very  loose 
fashion,  as  opposed  to  the  dense  spike-like  racemes  of  the 
Cow  Vetch. 

To  see  the  mountain  woods  blued  by  these  two  graceful 
plants  recalls  Emerson's  reference  to  how 

"  The  million-handed  Painter  pours 
Opal  hues  and  purple  dye  " 

out  upon  the  flowers  of  the  forest. 

The  Astragalus,  Oxytropis,  Hedysarum,  and  Vicia  all  belong 
to  the  Pea  Family,  and  therefore  their  flowers  are  all  papil- 
ionaceous;  that  is  to  say,  they  have  irregular  butterfly-shaped 
blossoms. 


PLATE  LX 


PURPLE  HEDYSARUM  (Hedysarum  boreale) 
WHITE  HEDYSARUM  (Hedysarum  boreale  var.  albifiorum} 

209 


OF 


TH£ 


PLATE  LXI 


I 


Cow  VETCH 
(  Vicia  C race  a) 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS 


213 


MOUNTAIN   SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  oppositifolia.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  prostrate,  densely  leafy.  Leaves:  sessile,  ovate,  nearly  orbicu- 
lar, persistent,  keeled,  fleshy,  opposite  or  imbricated  in  four  rows,  the 
margins  ciliate.  Flowers:  solitary,  nearly  sessile;  calyx-lobes  obtuse, 
much  shorter  than  the  obovate  purple  petals. 

The  simple  description  of  Silene  acaulis,  or  Moss  Campion, 
given  on  page  197,  is  applicable  in  several  particulars  to  this 
Mountain  Saxifrage,  which  is  also  a  dwarf  arctic-alpine  flower 
and  only  grows  at  great  altitudes.  The  chief  difference 
between  the  two  plants  lies  in  the  leaves,  which  in  the  Cam- 
pion are  extremely  fine  and  narrow  and  in  the  Saxifrage  are 
egg-shaped  and  thickish,  with  a  strongly  marked  keel  and 
hairy  margins.  The  stems  of  the  Saxifrage  are  prostrate  and 
very  leafy,  and  the  flowers  are  purple  and  grow  almost  flat 
upon  the  ground. 

It  was  John  Keble  who  first  drew  our  attention  to  the  fact 
that  they  are 

"  The  loveliest  flowers  that  closest  cling  to  earth." 

It  was  also  evidently  to  some  such  prostrate  alpine  plant  as 
the  Mountain  Saxifrage  that  he  referred  when  he  wrote  : 

"  Bloom  on  then  in  your  shade,  contented  bloom, 
Sweet  flowers,  nor  deem  yourselves  to  all  unknown. 
Heaven  knows  you,  by  whose  gales  and  dews  ye  thrive ; 
They  know,  who  one  day  for  their  altered  doom 
Shall  thank  you,  taught  by  you  to  abase  themselves  and  live." 


LARGE  PURPLE  ASTER 

Aster  conspicnus.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  stout,  rigid.  Leaves :  ovate,  oblong,  acute,  serrate,  veiny. 
Flowers  :  in  numerous  corymbosely  cymose  heads ;  involucre  broadly 
campanulate,  its  bracts  in  several  series ;  rays  in  a  single  series,  not 
very  numerous  ;  disk-flowers  tubular,  perfect. 


214  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

In  August  or  September  the  mountain  meadows  and  forests 
teem  with  many  of  these  flowers,  for  then 

"  Everywhere  the  purple  asters  nod, 
And  bend,  and  wave,  and  flit." 

They  are  the  pretty  heralds  of  Autumn,  some  of  them  tall, 
handsome,  and  stately,  like  the  Large  Purple  Aster  ;  some 
quite  small,  some  big  and  branching,  and  others  again  straight 
and  slender,  but  all  tending  to  glorify  the  earth.  The  Aster 
conspicuus  is  the  largest  and  handsomest  of  all  its  tribe,  as 
its  name  suggests.  It  is  very  branching  and  has  large  leaves 
that  are  sharply  toothed  ;  while  the  involucre,  or  green  cup 
which  holds  the  flower,  is  curiously  formed  by  several  series 
of  tiny  narrow-pointed  bracts,  which  stand  out  horizontally  and 
give  it  a  fringed  appearance.  The  rays  of  this  Aster  are  a 
lovely  bright  purple,  and  the  disk-flowers  in  the  centre  are 
golden  yellow. 

A.  Fremonti,  or  Fremont's  Aster,  is  a  very  common  species. 
It  also  has  purple  rays,  but  rather  brownish-yellow  disk- 
flowers.  All  the  Asters  consist  of  numerous,  tiny,  tubular 
disk-flowers  crowded  together  in  a  close  cluster  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  rays,  or  ray-flowers,  which  are  strap-shaped, 
the  whole  being  held  together  in  a  green  cup,  or  involucre, 
of  bracts.  The  leaves  of  Fremont's  Aster  are  quite  smooth 
at  the  edges. 

The  Asters  are  much-prized  flowers,  because  they  come  to 
us  at  a  season  when  the  whole  world  is  walking  in  russet  garb 
along  a  penitential  pathway  that  leads  to  winter's  frosty 
prison.  Only  the  Golden-rods  and  Asters  are  left  to  linger 
through  the  soft  gray  days  of  late  autumn,  and  what  could  be 
more  beautiful  than  these  blossoms  of  purple  and  gold,  which, 
where  the  sun  strikes  light  with  his  ruddy  lances,  bejewel  the 
burnished  lustre  of  bare  branches  and  brown  fallen  leaves  ? 

A.  foliaceus,  or  Leafy-bracted  Aster,  is  a  stout-stemmed 
erect  species,  with  violet,  purple,  or  white  rays.  It  has  many 


PLATE  LXII 


LARGE  PURPLE  ASTER 

(Aster  conspicuus) 
2I5 


v»" 

OF   THE 

I   UNIVERSITY    I 

OF 


PLATE  LXIII 


LARGE  PURPLE  FLEABANE 

(Erigeron  salsttginosus) 
217 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  219 

flowers  growing  on  short  stalks,  which  spring  out  at  intervals 
from  the  axils  of  the  clasping  smooth-edged  leaves,  all  the 
way  up  the  long  main  stems  ;  and  the  bracts  of  the  green 
involucre  are  very  conspicuous,  especially  the  outer  and  lower 
series,  which  spread  forth  horizontally  and  are  almost  like 
tiny  leaves.  This  Aster  usually  grows  near  water. 

A.  Engelmannii,  or  Engelmann's  Aster,  is  a  rather  tall 
robust  plant,  of  coarse  appearance,  with  clusters  of  purple 
flowers,  each  one  growing  on  its  own  individual  axillary  stalk, 
or  else  in  a  terminal  cyme. 

A  common  English  name  for  Asters  is  Michaelmas  Daisies, 
because  they  bloom  at  the  feast  of  Saint  Michael,  according  to 

"  The  calendar, 

Faithful  through  a  thousand  years, 
Of  the  painted  race  of  flowers, 
Exact  to  days,  exact  to  hours." 

BLUE  FLEABANE 

Erigeron  acris.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  hirsute-pubescent,  slender,  simple  or  branched.  Leaves:  pubes- 
cent, entire,  the  lower  ones  spatulate,  the  upper  ones  oblong,  sessile ; 
involucre  hemispheric,  its  bracts  linear,  hirsute.  Flowers:  rays  numerous, 
tubular  ;  pistillate  flowers  filiform  ;  pappus  simple,  copious. 

A  very  common  species  of  Fleabane,  which  has  numerous 
small  flowers  growing  in  a  cluster  at  the  top  of  each  slender 
stem,  and  also  a  few  solitary  axillary  blossoms  lower  down. 
The  whole  plant  is  hairy,  the  lower  leaves  being  spatulate  and 
the  upper  ones  oblong,  all  with  smooth  perfect  margins. 

The  Fleabanes  differ  from  the  Asters  in  one  very  essential 
particular,  namely,  that  the  rays  of  the  former  are  much  nar- 
rower and  very  much  more  numerous  than  those  of  the  latter, 
forming  a  thick  fine  fringe  round  the  edge  of  the  flowers. 
Also  the  Fleabanes  bloom  earlier  in  the  season.  They  are 
extremely  prolific. 


220  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

E.  Philadelphicus,  or  Lavender  Fleabane,  has  a  thick,  finely 
cut  lavender  fringe  encircling  its  yellow  disk  of  tiny  tubular 
florets.  The  leaves  are  very  clasping  and  toothed,  and  the 
rays  often  number  one  hundred  and  twenty. 

E.  uniflorus,  or  Arctic  Fleabane,  is  a  very  tiny  dwarf  plant, 
growing  from  one  to  six  inches  high,  and  found  only  on  the 
loftiest  mountain  summits.  It  has  a  single  slender  stem, 
which  is  clothed  at  the  base  by  a  small  cluster  of  smooth- 
margined  hairy  leaves  ;  a  few  little  narrow  leaves  also  grow 
higher  up.  At  the  top  is  a  solitary  purplish  flower.  The 
whole  plant  is  very  hairy  and  woolly. 

E.  lanatus,  or  Alpine  Fleabane,  is  also  a  species  which 
grows  at  great  elevations.  It  has  both  purple  and  white 
flowers,  and  is  covered  with  a  soft,  whitish,  woolly  coating. 

E.  salsuginosus,  or  Large  Purple  Fleabane,  is  the  king  of 
its  tribe.  It  has  very  large  and  lovely  purple  flowers,  with 
big  yellow  disks  and  a  few  small,  thick,  smooth  leaves  cling- 
ing to  its  stout  downy  stems.  The  rays  number  from  fifty  to 
seventy,  and  the  bracts  of  the  involucre  are  narrow  and 
spreading.  This  particular  Fleabane  is  quite  unmistakable, 
for  it  is  much  larger  and  handsomer  than  any  of  the  other 
mountain  species,  and  makes  the  alpine  meadows  and  slopes 
quite  gay  during  its  flowering  season,  which  is  in  the  early 
autumn. 

WAVY-LEAVED  THISTLE 

Cnicus  undulatus.    Composite  Family 

Persistently  white-tomentose  throughout.  Stems:  stout,  leafy.  Leaves: 
lanceolate  in  outline,  acute,  sessile,  undulate,  lobed,  the  lobes  dentate, 
triangular,  very  prickly.  Flowers:  solitary  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 

This  reddish-purple  Thistle  grows  from  one  to  three  feet 
high  and  is  a  fine  handsome  plant  with  large  long  leaves, 
whose  edges  are  wavy  and  triangularly  lobed,  the  lobes  being 
sharply  toothed  and  very  prickly.  The  big  flower-heads  grow 


PLATE  LX1V 


BROOK  LOBELIA 

(Lobelia  Kalmii) 

221 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  223 

at  the  ends   of   the  branches  and   are  surrounded   by  large 
involucres  of  prickly  bracts. 

Every  traveller  knows  that  the  Thistle  is  the  national  floral 
emblem  of  Scotland,  and  has  been  ever  since  that  day  when 
a  barefoot  Danish  soldier,  stepping  inadvertently  upon  its 
spines,  gave  a  cry  of  pain  which  aroused  the  sleeping  Scot- 
tish camp  and  saved  Scotland.  The  motto  which  Scotsmen 
affix  to  this  flower  is  "Nemo  me  impune  lacessit"  (No  one 
touches  me  with  impunity),  or  in  the  vernacular,  "  Ye  maun't 
meddle  wi'  me."  And  assuredly  we  are  quite  content  to  leave 
it  alone  in  its  prickly  glory,  only  pausing  a  moment  in  passing 
to  admire  its  fine  richly  coloured  flowers. 

BROOK  LOBELIA 

Lobelia  Kalmii.    Lobelia  Family 

Stems:  leafy,  glabrous,  paniculately  branched.  Leaves:  lower  ones 
spatulate,  obtuse,  almost  entire;  upper  ones  sessile,  linear,  acute.  Flowers: 
in  loose  racemes  ;  calyx-tube  turbinate,  hemispheric,  lobes  lanceolate  ; 
corolla-tube  straight,  oblique,  divided  to  the  base  on  one  side,  two-lipped, 
irregularly  five-lobed. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  cultivated  garden  species 
of  Lobelia  will  easily  recognize  the  mountain  Brook  Lobelia, 
which  usually  grows  at  the  extreme  edge  of  a  stream,  or 
half  immersed  in  some  warm  wet  swamp,  where  its  grass-like 
stems,  bearing  their  racemes  of  sky-blue  blossoms,  spring  up 
in  little  companies  amongst  the  water-weeds,  the  Butterworts, 
and  the  Fly-spotted  Orchis. 

HAREBELL 

Campanula  rotundifolia.    Campanula  Family 

Stems:  slender,  erect,  simple  or  branched.  Leaves:  basal  ones  orbic- 
ular or  broadly  ovate  to  cordate;  cauline  ones  sessile,  linear.  Flowers: 
buds  erect  on  slender  pedicels,  flowers  drooping  or  spreading  ;  corolla 
campanulate,  five-lobed. 


224  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

These  bells  of  brilliant  purple-blue  are  familiar  to  every 
traveller  in  the  temperate  zone,  for  from  "  Bonnie  Scotland  " 
to  the  Pacific  Slope  the  Harebell  graces  many  a  hill  and  dale. 

Poets  in  every  age  have  sung  of  this  flower,  which  is  the 
real  Bluebell  of  Scotland,  the  favourite  floral  emblem  of  the 
"  Land  o'  cakes  and  brither  Scots,"  for,  as  the  old  song  says  : 

"  Let  the  proud  Indian  boast  of  his  jessamine  bowers, 

His  pastures  of  perfume,  and  rose-coloured  dells, 
While  humbly  I  sing  of  those  wild  little  flowers, 
The  bluebells  of  Scotland,  the  Scottish  bluebells." 

The  name  rotundifolia  refers  to  the  roundish  heart-shaped 
basal  leaves  of  the  plant,  which  wither  early,  while  the  stem- 
leaves,  which  are  numerous,  narrow,  and  pointed,  remain.  A 
marked  characteristic  of  these  flowers  is  that,  although  the 
buds  grow  erect  on  their  slender  stalks,  the  full-blown  blossoms 
droop  or  are  horizontal  in  order  to  protect  their  pollen  from 
the  rain.  The  name  Harebell  refers  to  the  hair-like  stems  of 
the  plant,  and  the  common  term  Bluebell  is  usually  reserved 
for  the  Wild  Hyacinth,  which  is  a  very  different  flower,  having 
thick  juicy  stalks  and  resembling  the  garden  species. 

The  Harebell  is  extremely  hardy  and  may  be  found  in  the 
crevices  of  the  cliff's,  defying  the  fierce  alpine  storms  or  grow- 
ing on  dry  wind-swept  meadows,  or  striking  its  roots  into  the 
tiniest  patch  of  soil,  so  as  to  gain  a  foothold  on  the  edge  of 
some  terrific  precipice,  where  its  delicate  bells,  so  "darkly, 
deeply,  beautifully  blue,"  bend  but  never  break  before  the 
blustering  gale.  This  wonderful  vitality  of  the  Campanula  is 
commemorated  by  -Sir  Walter  Scott  when,  describing  Ellen 
in  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  he  says  : 

"  E'en  the  light  harebell  raised  its  head 
Elastic  from  her  airy  tread." 


PLATE  LXV 


HAREBELL 

( Campamila  rotiindifolia] 
225 


PLATE  LXVI 


MACOUN'S  GENTIAN 

( Gentiana  Macouuii ) 
227 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  229 

MACOUN'S  GENTIAN 

Gentiana  Macounii.    Gentian  Family 

Stems:  slender,  simple.  Leaves:  linear.  Flowers:  solitary  at  the  ends 
of  elongated  erect  peduncles ;  calyx-lobes  lanceolate,  acuminate,  their 
mid-ribs  decurrent  on  the  tube  ;  corolla  narrowly-campanulate,  its  lobes 
spatulate-oblong,  fringed  on  both  sides,  and  almost  toothed  around  the 
apex. 

A  lovely  deep  blue  Gentian,  found  in  moist  places,  but  not 
very  common.  When  the  days  begin  to  shorten  and  the  earth 
is  flooded  with  the  final  glory  of  those  scarlets  and  yellows 
that  precede  and  presage  decay,  then  like  a  beautiful  solemn 
benediction  the  Gentians,  "coloured  with  Heaven's  own  blue," 
are  spread  abroad,  opening  their  petals  for  a  while  to  the  sun- 
shine at  midday  and  closing  them  again  suddenly  at  the  first 
touch  of  the  chill  winds  that  blow  off  the  ice-fields. 

In  the  early  fall  of  the  year, 

"  Then  doth  thy  sweet  and  quiet  eye 
Look  through  its  fringes  to  the  sky, 
Blue,  blue,  as  if  that  sky  let  fall 
A  flower  from  its  cerulean  wall." 

There  lies  at  all  times  a  curious  silvery  tinge  upon  the 
exterior  of  the  four  large  fringed  lobes  of  the  corolla,  which 
are  delicately  and  darkly  veined.  The  two  outer  calyx-lobes 
are  longer  and  narrower  than  the  two  inner  ones,  and  the 
buds  are  very  long  and  pointed.  Whenever  you  try  to  pick 
one  of  these  Gentians,  you  will  find  that  the  whole  plant 
comes  up  out  of  the  ground  at  the  slightest  pull.  They  are 
extremely  elusive  flowers,  seldom  reappearing  in  the  same 
place  for  two  consecutive  years,  since,  being  annuals,  and 
therefore  perpetuated  by  seed  alone,  their  reappearance  the 
following  season  depends  altogether  upon  the  direction  of  the 
wind  which  blows  the  little  hairy  scales  hither  and  thither, 
and  by  good  fortune  deposits  a  few  where  the  moist  earth 
enables  them  to  germinate, 


230  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

NORTHERN  GENTIAN 

Gentiana  acuta.    Gentian  Family 

Stems:  leafy,  slightly  wing-angled,  simple  or  branched.  Leaves:  lower 
ones  obovate,  obtuse,  the  upper  ones  lanceolate,  acute  at  the  apex,  sub- 
cordate  at  the  base,  sessile  or  somewhat  clasping.  Flowers:  numerous, 
racemose-spicate,  pedicelled,  leafy-bracted  at  base ;  calyx  five-parted, 
the  lobes  linear;  corolla  five-lobed,  the  lobes  lanceolate,  acute,  each 
with  a  fimbriate  crown  at  the  base. 

A  very  common  Gentian  is  this  little  Northern  species,  and 
it  may  readily  be  distinguished  by  the  fringed  crown  set 
within  the  throat  of  the  corolla-tube.  The  flowers  are  quite 
numerous,  growing  in  clusters  on  short  stiff  stalks  that  spring 
out  of  the  main  stem  ;  they  are  usually  pinkish-purple,  but 
sometimes  white.  The  traveller  should  specially  note  that  the 
corolla  is  divided  into  five  lobes  at  the  top,  and  that  the  tiny 
roots  grow  close  to  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  are  very  easily 
pulled  up. 

G.  propinqua,  or  Four-parted  Gentian,  is  somewhat  like  the 
preceding  species,  but  has  larger,  brighter  blue  flowers,  which 
are  not  nearly  so  closely  clustered  together;  and  it  is  a  much 
more  graceful  plant.  The  corolla  is  four-parted,  or  cut  into 
four  lobes,  as  the  name  implies,  and  the  calyx  is  also  four- 
cleft.  These  Gentians  are  occasionally  white. 

G.  arctophila,  or  Alpine  Gentian,  is  a  tiny  dwarf  species 
resembling  G.  propinqna.  It  is  found  at  immense  altitudes. 

G.  prostrata,  or  Dwarf  Gentian,  has  very  weak  and  often 
procumbent  stems.  The  leaves  are  covered  with  a  soft  white 
bloom  and  have  white  hairy  margins,  while  the  flowers  are 
solitary  and  of  a  lovely  azure-blue  colour,  also  very  occasion- 
ally white.  It  is  an  exceedingly  tiny  plant,  and  has  been  found 
at  an  elevation  of  10,000  feet. 


PLATE  LXVII 


NORTHERN  GENTIAN 

(Gentiana  acitta") 

231 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  233 

LARGE  GENTIAN 

Gentiana  affinis.    Gentian  Family 

Stems:  clustered  from  deep  roots.  Leaves:  oblong,  obtuse.  Flowers: 
clustered  in  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves  ;  calyx-lobes  linear,  unequal ; 
corolla  long,  narrowly  funnel-form,  its  lobes  ovate,  entire,  acute  or  mucro- 
nate,  spreading. 

In  this  tall  handsome  Gentian  there  is  a  very  beautiful  con- 
trast between  the  rich  green  foliage  and  the  azure-blue  flowers. 
These  flowers  grow  in  dense  clusters  among  the  leaves  on  the 
top  of  the  stems ;  each  one  has  a  large,  gray,  greenish-blue 
corolla,  divided  into  five  spreading  lobes,  which  are  of  a  won- 
derful cerulean  hue  inside,  marked  and  spotted  with  white.  The 
tips  of  these  lobes  are  very  pointed,  and  sometimes  the  green 
calyx-lobes  equal  them  in  length,  showing  between  their  divi- 
sions, while  at  other  times  they  are  quite  minute. 

G.  Forwoodii,  or  Blue  Gentian,  resembles  the  preceding  spe- 
cies, but  has  a  decidedly  smaller  corolla,  with  shorter,  rounder 
lobes,  and,  most  remarkable  of  all,  the  green  calyx  has  no 
vestige  of  any  lobes  or  teeth  whatsoever,  but  is  perfectly  bell- 
shaped.  The  lobes  of  the  corolla  are  entirely  blue  and  have 
no  white  spots  or  marks  on  them.  It  is  a  handsome  massive 
plant. 

MOUNTAIN  PHACELIA 

Phacelia  sericea.    Water-leaf  Family 

Stems:  simple,  virgate,  canescent,  leafy  to  the  top.  Leaves:  pinnately 
parted  into  numerous  linear  and  again  pinnatifid  divisions,  silky-canes- 
cent.  Flowers:  in  short  spikes,  crowded  in  a  naked  spike-like  thyrsus; 
calyx-lobes  linear  ;  corolla  very  open-campanulate,  cleft  to  the  middle  ; 
stamens  long  exserted. 

A  glorious  plant,  with  rich  purple-blue  flowers  clustered  in 
huge  long  spike-like  panicles,  and  handsome  deeply  cleft  foliage, 
which  is  covered  with  a  soft  white  down.  The  long  protruding 
stamens  give  a  feathery  appearance  to  the  open  bell-shaped 


234  BLUE  T0  PURPLE 

blossoms,  and  as  it  grows  at  extremely  high  altitudes,  where 
flowers  of  any  kind  are  rather  rare  and  large  showy  ones  almost 
unknown,  the  Mountain  Phacelia  is  a  real  treasure-trove  to  the 
traveller..  It  has  a  very  strong  disagreeable  odour. 


FALSE  FORGET-ME-NOT 

Echinospermum  floribundttm.    Borage  Family 

Stems:  soft-hirsute,  rather  strict.  Leaves:  oblong  to  linear,  qntire,  ses- 
sile. Flowers:  in  numerous  racemes,  nearly  erect,  densely  flowered; 
corolla  funnel-form,  five-lobed.  Fruit :  nutlets  keeled,  papillose-tubercu- 
late  on  the  back,  the  margins  armed  with  a  single  row  of  flat  subulate 
prickles. 

There  have  probably  been  more  arguments  between  travel- 
lers over  these  flowers  than  over  any  other  plant  that  grows 
in  the  mountain  regions.  Ninety-nine  persons  out  of  every 
hundred  will  gather  the  lovely  sky-blue  blossoms,  delighting 
in  their  beauty  and  inhaling  with  joy  the  delicate  fragrance 
of  their  perfume,  under  the  firm  conviction  that  it  is  the 
True  Forget-me-not  they  are  picking;  whereas  —  alas  for 
the  shattering  of  a  pretty  romance !  —  it  is  only  the  sweet- 
scented  blossoms  of  the  False  Forget-me-not  they  are  gath- 
ering, which  have  as  usual  practised  a  successful  deception 
upon  the  unwary. 

The  False  Forget-me-not  may,  in  reality,  be  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  True  species  by  a  very  simple  fact, 
which,  once  understood  and  noted,  will  never  again  be  over- 
looked. When  in  fruit  the  False  species  bears  numerous 
nutlets  covered  with  prickles,  in  fact  tiny  burs,  which  give 
it  the  common  name  of  Stickseed,  and  certainly  these  little 
seeds  do  stick,  and  stick  very  fast  indeed,  to  the  clothing  of 
persons  and  the  fur  of  passing  animals.  The  True  Forget- 
me-not  has  no  burs. 

The  stems  and  long  narrow  leaves  of  the  Echinospermum 
floribundum  are  covered  with  a  slight  soft  down.  It  grows 


PLATE  LXV1II 


MOUNTAIN  PHACELIA 

(Phacelia  sericea) 

235 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


PLATE  LXIX 


FALSE  FORGET-ME-NOT 
(Ech  in  osperm  u  m  floribim  dum ) 


237 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  239 

very  tall  under  favourable  circumstances,  such  as  near  water 
and  on  the  open  sunshiny  slopes,  and  its  flowers,  blue  as 
heaven  itself,  or  very  occasionally  white,  are  funnel-form,  the 
tube  being  very  short  and  having  its  throat  nearly  closed  by 
five  flat  lobes,  which  form  a  circular  arching  crest  in  the 
centre.  The  tiny  stamens,  and  the  style  with  its  minute  capi- 
tate stigma,  are  set  inside  this  bright  yellow  circle,  or  "eye." 
It  matters  little,  after  all,  whether  these  flowers  are  False 
or  True  ;  they  are  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  very  fragrant, 
as  they  hold  their  ,  Festival 

Of  breaking  bud  and  scented  breath  " 

high  up  in  some  alpine  meadow,  where  the  air  is  fresh  and 
wholesome  and  where  the  whole  world  seems  full  of  won- 
derful possibilities. 

E.  Lappula,  or  Stickseed,  has  much  smaller  leaves  and  very 
tiny  bright  blue  flowers,  each  individual  blossom  being  little 
larger  than  a  pin's  head.  These  flowers  grow  in  close  leafy- 
bracted  racemes,  which  are  more  or  less  one-sided,  and  when 
in  fruit  it  bears  innumerable  tiny  burs.  It  is  not  indigenous. 

TALL   LUNGWORT 

Mertensia  paniculata.    Borage  Family 

Rough-pubescent.  Steins:  erect,  branched  above,  the  branches  slender. 
Leaves:  thin,  pinnately  veined,  those  of  the  stem  ovate-lanceolate,  acu- 
minate ;  basal  leaves  ovate,  rounded.  Flowers .  several-flowered  in  loose 
terminal  panicles ;  calyx-lobes  acute ;  corolla  funnel-form,  crested  in 
the  throat. 

The  Tall  Lungwort  grows  from  one  to  three  feet  high,  and 
is  one  of  the  handsomest  members  of  a  family  of  coarse  and 
hairy  plants.  It  has  very  showy  blue  flowers,  their  tubes 
crested  in  the  throat  and  the  lobes  only  slightly  spreading. 
These  grow  in  loose  terminal  clusters. 

Probably  it  is  because  there  are  so  few  really  blue  mountain 
wild  flowers  that  \ve  specially  prize  this  striking  plant.  On 


240  BLUE  TO   PURPLE 

every  hand  we  see  various  shades  of  purple,  mauve,  violet, 
and  heliotrope,  —  but  very  rarely  of  blue. 

"  Blue  !    'T  is  the  life  of  heaven,  the  domain 

Of  Cynthia,  the  wide  palace  of  the  sun, 

The  tent  of  Hesperus,  and  all  his  train, 

The  bosomer  of  clouds,  gold,  gray,  and 

Blue  !     'T  is  the  life  of  waters,  ocean 

And  all  its  basal  streams. 

Blue  !     Gentle  cousin  of  the  forest  green, 

Married  to  green  in  all  the  sweetest  flowers." 

TRUE  FORGET-ME-NOT 

Myosotis  sylvatica  var.  alpestris.    Borage  Family 

Stems:  erect,  tufted.  Leaves:  oblong,  linear.  Flowers:  in  dense 
racemes  ;  calyx  five-parted,  hirsute ;  corolla  salver-form,  the  throat 
with  small  blunt  crests  at  the  base  of  the  rounded  lobes. 

This  is  the  real  True  Forget-me-not.  It  grows  from  about 
four  to  six  inches  high  and  is  found  only  at  high  altitudes. 
Its  tiny  turquoise  flowers  are  very  fragrant.  Unlike  the 
prickly  burs  of  the  False  species,  the  nutlets  of  the  True 
Forget-me-not  are  quite  smooth. 

There  are  innumerable  stories  told  concerning  these  blue- 
eyed  flowers,  which  are  the  emblems  of  undying  love  and  are 
identified  with  our  most  romantic  sentiments.  One  of  the 
most  charming  legends  about  them  runs  thus  : 

"When  to  the  flowers  so  beautiful 
The  Father  gave  a  name, 
There  came  a  little  blue-eyed  one 
(All  timidly  it  came), 
And,  standing  at  the  Father's  feet, 
And  gazing  in  His  face, 
It  said,  in  low  and  trembling  tones, 
Yet  with  a  gentle  grace  : 
'  Dear  Lord,  the  name  Thou  gavest  me, 
Alas!   I  have  forgot' ; 
Kindly  the  Father  looked  Him  down 
And  said,  '  Forget  Me  not.'  " 


PLATE  LXX 


241 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  243 

SMALL-FLOWERED  COLLINSIA 

Collinsia  parviflora.    Figwort  Family 

Steins:  very  slender  and  weak.  Leaves:  oblong  or  lanceolate,  mostly 
obtuse  at  the  apex  and  narrowed  at  the  base,  entire  or  sparingly  toothed, 
the  lower  ones  opposite,  the  upper  ones  in  whorls.  Flowers:  on  long 
pedicels ;  corolla  variegated  blue  and  white,  the  throat  longer  than  the 
limb,  which  is  two-lipped,  the  upper  lip  two-cleft,  its  lobes  recurved,  the 
lower  lip  larger  and  three-lobed. 

A  pretty,  fragile,  little  plant,  with  numerous  variegated 
blue  and  white  blossoms.  It  grows  thickly  in  moist  places, 
seldom  attaining  more  than  eight  inches  in  height.  It  is  not 
unlike  a  very  tiny  Lobelia. 


LARGE  PURPLE  BEARD-TONGUE 

Penstemon  Menziesii.    Figwort  Family 

Low,  densely  matted,  prostrate,  with  lateral  leafy  branches,  which 
bear  erect  flowering  shoots  two  to  six  inches  high.  Leaves:  thick,  long, 
obovate,  dentate,  the  flowering  stems  bearing  several  pairs  of  orbicular 
leaf-like  bracts.  Flowers  :  calyx  five-parted ;  corolla  tubular,  moderately 
bilabiate,  the  upper  lip  two-lobed,  the  lower  lip  three-lobed  and  bearded 
within. 

These  handsome  purple  and  pinkish  flowers  are  an  inch  or 
more  in  length  and  form  large  mats  of  brilliant  colour  upon 
the  rocks  at  very  high  elevations.  The  plant  grows  prostrate 
upon  the  ground  and  has  numerous  short  erect  shoots,  bear- 
ing the  blossoms,  which  are  tubular  in  shape  and  have  two 
lips,  the  lower  one  being  thickly  bearded  with  soft  white 
hairs.  Penstemon  comes  from  the  Greek  pente,  "  five,"  and 
stemon,  "a  stamen,"  and  refers  to  the  large  fifth  sterile 
stamen,  which  is  simply  a  filament  without  an  anther  and 
is  densely  hairy  like  the  lower  lip.  It  is  to  this  pert  little 
bearded  tongue,  which  projects  far  beyond  the  other  four 
fertile  stamens,  that  the  flower  owes  its  common  name. 


244  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

P.  confertus  var,  cceruleo-purpurens,  or  Blue  Beard -tongue, 
is  very  like  P.  confertus,  or  Yellow  Beard-tongue,  described 
in  the  Yellow  to  Orange  Section. 

Its  flowers  are  bright  blue  or  violet,  and  are  usually  set  in 
two  dense  circles  round  the  stem,  though  there  is  also  a  low- 
growing  form  of  this  species  found  in  the  mountains  which 
has  blue  flowers  growing  in  a  simple  terminal  cluster. 


ALPINE  SPEEDWELL 

Veronica  alpina.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  erect,  slender,  usually  simple.  Leaves:  oblong,  ovate,  sessile, 
mostly  rounded  at  both  ends,  nearly  entire.  Flowers:  in  a  short  narrow 
raceme  ;  corolla  rotate,  its  tube  very  short,  deeply  four-lobed,  the  lower 
lobe  the  narrowest. 

These  small  azure-blue  blossoms  win  the  love  of  many  a 
traveller  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  they  are  among  the  last 
flowers  he  sees  growing  in  the  crevices  of  the  great  moraines 
that  fringe  the  glaciers,  and  are  frequently  the  first  ones 
to  meet  his  eyes  as  he  comes  off  the  snowy  ice-fields  after 
making  some  arduous  ascent. 

"  The  little  speedwell's  darling  blue" 

renders  it  conspicuous,  though  its  flowers  are  very  small 
indeed,  being  clustered  together  at  the  tops  of  the  stems. 
One  marked  peculiarity  of  the  Speedwells  is  that  the  blossoms, 
which  are  cleft  into  four  lobes,  usually  have  the  lower  segment 
narrower  than  the  rest.  The  Dutch  call  this  plant  "  Honour 
and  Praise,"  because  it  was  once  upon  a  time  believed  to 
contain  valuable  medicinal  properties.  Many  claimed  it  to  be 
an  excellent  remedy  for  scrofula,  and  it  was  the  great  Lin- 
naeus himself  who  grouped  it,  together  with  all  its  relatives, 
under  the  family  name  of  Scropliulariacece,  or  Figwort. 

The  term  Veronica  suggests  far  more  beautiful  associations. 
Here  the  plant  is  named  after  Saint  Veronica,  who  in  her 


PLATE  LXXI 


ALPINE  SPEEDWELL 

{Veronica  alpina) 

245 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  247 

turn  was  thus  canonized  because,  according  to  an  ancient 
tradition,  she  wiped  the  drops  of  agony  from  our  Saviour's 
face  when  on  His  way  to  Calvary,  and  ever  afterwards  her 
kerchief  bore  the  vera  iconica,  "  the  true  likeness,"  of  His 
sacred  features. 

V.  serpyllifolia,  or  Thyme-leaved  Speedwell,  may  be  recog- 
nized by  its  decumbent  branching  stems  ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
stems  are  curved  near  the  base  and  lie  partly  on  the  ground, 
rooting  where  the  joints  touch  the  earth.  Usually  these  stems 
grow  in  pairs  and  bear  at  their  upper  ends  spikes  of  pale 
gray-blue  blossoms  striped  with  dark  blue,  the  tiny  flowers 
also  growing  at  close  intervals  lower  down  on  the  stalks. 
The  small  oblong  leaves  grow  in  opposite  pairs.  Occasionally 
the  flowers  are  white. 

BUTTERWORT 
Pinguicula  vulgaris.    Bladder  wort  Family 

Stems:  scape  glabrous,  tall.  Leaves:  from  three  to  seven  in  a  rosette 
at  the  base  of  the  scape,  entire,  ovate,  obtuse.  Flowers:  one-flowered; 
calyx  five-parted ;  corolla  bilabiate,  the  upper  lip  two-cleft,  the  lower 
one  three-cleft,  base  of  the  corolla  saccate  and  contracted  into  a  nectar- 
iferous, acute,  nearly  straight  spur. 

At  first  sight  the  Butterwort  looks  like  a  lovely  large  pur- 
ple violet,  but  a  second  glance  reveals  its  rosette  of  very  pale 
green  leaves,  with  their  involute  margins,  and  the  traveller 
at  once  recognizes  the  Pinguicula,  its  name  being  derived 
from  the  Latin pinguis,  "fat,"  and  referring  to  the  horrible 
slimy  greasy  secretion  with  which  its  leaves  are  coated,  and 
which  renders  them  most  repulsive  to  the  touch. 

The  flowers  are  of  a  rich  purple  colour,  and  are  two-lipped, 
the  upper  lip  being  cleft  into  two  and  the  lower  lip  into  three 
lobes.  These  lobes  are  delicately  veined  and  the  lower  ones 
are  covered  with  white  hairs.  The  corolla  terminates  behind 
in  a  long  straight  spur.  The  Butterwort  always  grows  near 
water,  and  usually  in  swamps  or  other  very  moist  places. 


248  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

WILD  CANADA  MINT 

Mentha  Canadensis.    Mint  Family 

Stems:  erect,  simple  or  branched.  Leaves:  oblong,  acute,  sharply  ser- 
rate. Flowers:  all  in  short  and  dense,  sessile,  axillary  glomerules;  calyx 
oblong-campanulate,  pubescent,  five-toothed ;  corolla  irregularly  four-cleft. 

The  traveller  has  only  to  pick  a  spray  of  this  plant  to  know 
its  name,  Mint,  from  Minthe,  a  lovely  nymph  whom  the  jeal- 
ous Proserpine  changed  into  a  flower  so  that  she  might  not 
win  the  admiration  of  Pluto,  her  lord  and  master.  At  least 
the  memory  of  the  ill-fated  beauty  is  kept  forever  green  and 
fragrant,  for  the  leaves  of  the  Mint  contain  numerous  tiny 
glands  in  which  is  secreted  a  volatile  oil  that  has  an  exces- 
sively strong  odour  and  flavour. 

The  flowers,  which  are  either  pinkish-purple  or  purplish-pink, 
and  very  occasionally  white,  grow  in  dense  little  clusters  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves. 

BRUNELLA 

Brunella  indgaris.    Mint  Family 

Stems :  numerous,  slender,  erect  or  procumbent,  usually  simple.  Leaves  : 
thin,  ovate  or  oblong,  obtuse,  entire  or  crenate.  Flowers:  in  dense, 
bracted,  terminal  and  axillary  spikes  ;  calyx  cylindraceous,  with  hirsute 
teeth;  corolla-tube  inflated,  bilabiate,  the  upper  lip  entire,  arched,  the 
lower  lip  spreading,  three-lobed. 

The  dense  purple  spikes  of  the  Brunella,  or  Self-heal,  are 
very  common  beside  alpine  streams  and  in  the  grassy  meadows. 
This  plant,  which  was  called  Prunella  by  Linnaeus,  is  more 
significantly  named  Brunella,  because  it  is  supposed  to  con- 
tain a  remedy  for  die  Braime,  or  the  quinsy,  and  hence  some 
ancient  German  botanist  originally  called  it  Bnmellen. 

It  is  not  an  attractive  flower,  for  its  elongated  spikes,  cov- 
ered with  dark  reddish  bracts,  have  usually  only  a  few  scat- 
tered blossoms  on  them,  and  even  these  are  insignificant. 
The  leaves  grow  in  pairs  up  the  stems,  and  are  frequently 
marked  with  reddish  patches. 


PLATE  LXXII 


BLUE-EYED  GRASS 

(Sisy  finch iu m  a ngusti folium ) 

249 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  251 

HEDGE  NETTLE 

Stachys palustris.    Mint  Family 

Stems :  erect,  strict,  simple,  retrorse-hispid  on  the  angles.  Leaves :  firm, 
lanceolate,  oblong,  almost  sessile,  acute  at  the  apex,  subcordate  at  the 
base,  dentate.  Flowers :  in  clusters,  forming  an  elongated  interrupted  spike. 

The  Hedge  Nettle  has  from  six  to  ten  reddish-purple 
flowers  in  each  of  the  whorls  that  encircle  its  stem  at  inter- 
vals, and  also  bears  a  terminal  cluster  at  the  top.  Stachys 
means  "a  spike,"  and  refers  to  its  elongated  flower-spikes, 
while  palustris  signifies  "  growing  in  swamps,"  and  is  there- 
fore peculiarly  appropriate  to  this  plant,  which  frequents  very 
moist  places.  Probably  it  was  called  Hedge  Nettle  because 
the  leaves  resemble  those  of  the  true  Nettle,  but  without 
the  stinging  properties  of  the  latter.  The  Hedge  Nettle  is  a 
very  hairy  plant,  its  leaves  and  stems  being  all  covered  with 
quantities  of  fine  hairs. 

BLUE-EYED  GRASS 

Sisyrinchium  angustifolium.    Iris  Family 

Stems:  two-edged,  slender,  erect,  rigid.  Leaves:  commonly  all  basal, 
linear,  rigid,  almost  setaceous ;  bracts  two,  very  unequal,  erect,  the  lower 
one  twice  as  long  as  the  upper  one.  Flowers :  six  segments  of  the  peri- 
anth spreading,  aristulate. 

"  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  with  a  burning  heat, 
But  it  withereth  the  grass, 
And  the  flower  thereof  falleth, 
And  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perisheth." 

Was  it  of  this  tiny  yet  brilliant  purple-blue  flower  that  the 
Apostle  Saint  James  wrote  the  above  verse  ?  Did  he  espy  it, 
as  he  walked  abroad,  nestling  amongst  the  sedges  that  fringed 
the  streams  ?  It  is  a  very  fragile  little  blossom,  and  as  it 
resents  being  picked  to  the  extent  of  immediately  shrivel- 
ling up  and  dying,  travellers  had  better  be  content  to  admire 
it  where  it  flourishes  in  the  moist  low-lying  meadows,  and 


252  BLUE  TO  PURPLE 

refrain  from  all  attempts  to  gather  it.  This  "little  sister  of 
the  stately  blue  Flag  "  only  blooms  for  a  single  day,  and  each 
morning  new  buds  open  to  replace  the  fallen  petals  of  yes- 
terday. Its  flowers  consist  of  six  translucent  purplish-blue 
segments,  veined  with  a  darker  hue  and  tipped  by  a  bristle 
from  a  notch.  These  grow  on  thread-like  stalks  between  two 
very  long  narrow  bracts,  the  lower  one  of  which  is  usually 
twice  as  long  as  the  upper  one.  In  the  centre  of  each  blos- 
som is  a  small  patch  of  yellow,  and  the  style,  which  is  long 
and  protruding,  is  tipped  by  a  conspicuous  three-cleft  stigma. 
The  name  Blue-eyed  Grass  is  most  appropriate  to  this 
plant,  for  its  leaves  are  certainly  quite  grass-like,  being  long 
and  slender,  and  nearly  all  spring  up  from  the  densely  tufted 
base,  together  with  the  stems,  which  latter  are  flattened  on 
both  sides.  The  flowers  are  very  like  soft  purplish-blue  eyes 
with  their  dilated  yellow  "pupils,"  as  they 

"  Gently  gaze  toward  the  sky, 
Answering  the  azure  blue  on  high." 

Another  poet  sings  thus  of  the  Blue-eyed  Grass : 

"  Blue-eyed  grass  in  the  meadow, 

And  yarrow  blooms  on  the  hill, 
Cat-tails  that  rustle  and  whisper, 
And  winds  that  are  never  still ; 

"  Blue-eyed  grass  in  the  meadow, 

A  linnet's  nest  near  by, 
Blackbirds  carolling  clearly 

Somewhere  between  earth  and  sky. 

"  Blue-eyed  grass  in  the  meadow, 
And  the  laden  bee's  low  hum, 
Milkweeds  all  by  the  roadside, 
To  tell  us  summer  is  come." 


PLATE  LXXIII 


PURPLE  GARLIC 
ium  Schcenoprasum} 

253 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  255 

PURPLE  GARLIC 

A  Ilium  Schcenoprasum.    Lily  Family 

Bulbs  narrowly  ovoid,  clustered.  Stems :  scape  rather  stout,  bearing 
below  the  middle  one  or  two  elongated,  linear,  terete,  hollow  leaves  ;  other 
leaves  basal ;  bracts  of  the  umbel  two,  broadly  ovate.  Flowers :  in  umbels, 
capitate ;  perianth  of  six  equal,  distinct,  lanceolate,  one-nerved  segments. 

This  handsome  Purple  Garlic  with  its  large  dense  flower- 
heads  and  long  hollow  leaves  is  not  at  all  common  in  the 
mountains,  but  is  frequently  cultivated  in  cottage-gardens  for 
the  sake  of  its  beautifully  coloured  blossoms.  Like  all  the 
Garlics,  it  has  a  very  pungent  odour. 


MOUNTAIN  WILD  FLOWERS 
OF  AMERICA 

SECTION  IV 
YELLOW  TO  ORANGE  FLOWERS 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


SECTION   IV 
YELLOW  TO  ORANGE  FLOWERS 

MEADOW  BUTTERCUP 

Ranunculus  acris.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  erect,  hairy,  branched  above,  roots  fibrous.  Leaves :  basal 
ones  tufted,  petioled,  three-to-seven  parted,  the  divisions  sessile  and 
cleft  into  numerous  narrow  acute  lobes ;  upper  leaves  three-parted. 
Flowers :  numerous ;  petals  five,  yellow,  conspicuous.  Not  indigenous. 

Every  child  knows  and  loves  the  bright  yellow  flowers  of 
the  common  Buttercup.  Every  child  has  sung  of 

"  Buttercups  and  daisies, 

And  all  the  pretty  flowers, 
Growing  in  the  sunshine 
To  tell  of  happy  hours." 

Yet  the  Ranunculus  acris  is  the  enemy  of  the  farmer. 
Cattle  will  not  eat  of  its  acrid  leaves,  and  even  the  hands  of 
man  are  frequently  scarred  and  blistered  by  the  caustic  juices 
contained  in  the  stalks  and  leaves  of  this  plant.  High  up  in 
the  mountains,  however,  where  the 

"  Buds  of  yellow  hue 
Do  paint  the  meadows  with  delight," 

we  welcome  these  brilliant  Buttercups ;  there  they  can  harm 
no  one,  but  only  please  the  eye  with  their  finely  dissected 
foliage  and  tall-stemmed  golden  flowers. 

If  you  cut  vertically  through  the  middle  of  this  Ranunculus, 
you  will  find  that  its  receptacle  is  a  long  cone,  from  which  the 
five  green  sepals,  the  five  yellow  petals,  the  numerous  stamens, 

259 


260  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

and  the  carpels  all  spread  out  successively.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  confuse  the  Ranunculi  with  the  Potentillasy  which 
latter  belong  to  the  Rose  Family  and  are  also  described  in 
this  Section,  for  the  blossoms  of  the  two  plants  somewhat 
resemble  each  other,  though  a  close  inspection  and  comparison 
of  them,  together  with  their  stems  and  leaves,  will  always 
serve  to  plainly  demonstrate  at  once  the  differences  which 
exist  between  them.  One  point  of  variance  which  may  be 
specially  noted  is  that  the  Ranunculus  usually  has  simple 
lobed,  or  divided  or  dissected  leaves,  whereas  the  Potentilla 
usually  has  compound  leaves ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Ranunculus 
has,  in  most  cases,  leaves  that  are  much  cut  up  and  lobed,  but 
the  Potentilla,  as  a  rule,  has  leaves  formed  of  several  entirely 
separate  leaflets.  This  distinction  is,  however,  not  arbitrary, 
though  it  exists  in  the  majority  of  cases.  Also  each  petal  of 
the  Ranuncitlus  has  a  tiny  pit,  or  spot,  covered  by  a  scale,  on 
the  inside  of  the  claw,  near  the  base.  This  spot  is  absent  in 
all  the  Potentillas.  The  Meadow  Buttercup  has  fibrous  roots. 
R.  Macouniiy  or  Macoun's  Buttercup,  is  an  erect,  very  hairy 
plant,  growing  from  one  to  two  feet  high,  and  has  yellow 
flowers. 

SNOW  BUTTERCUP 

Ranunculus  Eschscholtzii.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  ascending,  one-to-three  flowered.  Leaves:  roundish  in  outline, 
three-to-five  parted,  or  deeply  cleft,  the  obovate  divisions  lobed  or 
incised.  Flowers :  yellow,  the  calyx  covered  with  brownish  hairs. 

This  alpine  Buttercup  grows  at  very  high  altitudes,  close  to 
the  snow  and  always  near  water.  A  cluster  of  much-divided 
leaves  grows  up  from  the  base  of  the  plant  on  long  slender 
stems,  and  half-way  up  the  flower-stalk  there  is  a  circle  of 
narrowly  lobed  leaves,  and  also,  frequently,  a  single  bud.  The 
large  yellowish  calyx,  which  is  covered  with  brown  hairs  on 
the  outside,  gives  the  flower  almost  a  double  appearance. 
The  head  of  the  fruit  is  oblong. 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  26 1 

CREEPING  CROWFOOT 

Ranunculus  Cymbalaria,    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems  :  one-to-seven  flowered.  Leaves  :  broadly  ovate,  coarsely  cre- 
nate,  clustered  at  the  base  and  joints  of  the  long,  filiform,  rooting  runners. 
Flowers  :  petals  yellow,  longer  than  the  sepals.  Fruit :  the  mature  achenes 
striate-veined  on  the  sides,  apex  blunt  with  a  short  oblique  beak,  heads 
oblong. 

As  its  name  denotes,  this  is  a  small  creeping  plant,  having 
numerous  runners  which  root  at  the  joints,  whence  spring  up 
little  clusters  of  leaves.  The  flowers  are  yellow  and  very  tiny. 

R.  aquatilis  var.  stagnatilis,  or  Water  Crowfoot,  has  tiny 
white  and  yellow  flowers.  The  fine  thread-like  leaves  are 
entirely  submerged  under  the  surface  of  the  alpine  lakes  and 
pools,  where  the  plant  grows  abundantly,  while .  the  broader 
three-lobed  leaves  float  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  These 
thread-like  leaves  are  common  to  several  kinds  of  aquatic 
plants,  and  such  minute  division  enables  them  without  a  large 
expenditure  of  material  to  expose  a  large  surface  to  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas  dissolved  in  the  water. 

R.  reptans,  or  Creeping  Spearwort,  has  small  yellow  flowers 
with  from  four  to  seven  petals,  trailing  stems  that  root  at  the 
joints,  and  extremely  narrow  grass-like  leaves.  The  flowers 
are  borne  in  the  axils  of  the  prostrate  creeping  stems. 

R.  repens,  or  Yellow  Crowfoot,  is  a  hairy  plant,  which 
spreads  by  means  of  its  runners  and  forms  large  patches 
upon  the  ground  ;  it  has  leaves  which  are  divided  into  three 
parts,  each  one  of  which  is  lobed  and  toothed.  The  flower- 
stalk  is  grooved,  the  sepals  are  widely  spread,  and  the  petals 
are  half -erect. 


262  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

MARSH-MARIGOLD 

Caltha  palustris.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  erect,  one-to-two  flowered,  the  lower  flower  subtended  by  a 
petaloid  lanceolate  bract.  Leaves:  roundish  to  oblong-cordate,  longer 
than  wide,  irregularly  crenate-toothed.  Flowers:  yellow;  sepals  petal- 
oid, lanceolate,  acute  ;  petals  none  ;  stamens  and  pistils  numerous. 

This  is  a  splendid-looking  marsh  plant,  with  large  round- 
ish glossy  leaves  of  a  deep  bright  green,  and  fine  yellow 
blossoms  that  are  tinged  with  purple  on  the  outside.  It  resem- 
bles a  large  Buttercup.  The  name  Marigold  is  a  corruption 
of  "  Mary's  gold,"  for  this  flower  was  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Virgin  in  the  Middle  Ages,  a  fact  to  which  Shakespeare  refers 
in  Cymbeline,  when  he  causes  the  musicians  to  sing : 

"  Hark,  hark  !  the  lark  at  heaven's  gate  sings, 

And  Phoebus  'gins  arise, 
His  steeds  to  water  at  those  springs 

On  chalic'd  flowers  that  lies  ; 
And  winking  Mary-buds  begin 

To  ope  their  golden  eyes." 

The  Marsh-marigold  has  no  petals,  but  its  five  or  more  petal- 
oid sepals  do  duty  instead.  The  leaves  of  this  extremely 
succulent  plant  are  mostly  heart-shaped  at  the  base,  and  just 
below  the  flower  is  borne  a  petal-like  long-shaped  bract. 

Ofttimes  amid  the  mountains  you  will  see  flat  moist  meadows 
literally  ablaze  with  these  showy  shining  blossoms,  which  turn 
the  huge  marshes  into  a  veritable  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold. 

YELLOW  COLUMBINE 

Aquilegia  flavescens.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems:  smooth.  Leaves:  ternate  ;  leaflets  round-cordate,  three-parted, 
the  segments  coarsely  toothed.  Flowers:  yellow,  pendulous;  petals  five, 
with  short  spreading  lips,  and  produced  backwards  into  long  tubular 
spurs ;  sepals  reflexed,  longer  than  the  spurs. 


PLATE  LXXIV 


YELLOW  COLUMBINE 

(Aquilegia  flavescens) 
263 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  265 

This  Columbine  grows  at  great  altitudes,  and  may  be  found 
amongst  the  rocks  at  a  height  of  8000  feet,  where  the  soil  is 
so  light  and  sparse  that  there  seems  to  be  no  foothold  for  any 
vegetation  at  all,  much  less  for  such  tall  and  graceful  plants 
as  these  Aquilegias,  which  stand  from  one  to  three  feet  high 
and  bear  abundant  blossoms  of  palest  purest  yellow,  pendent 
on  their  brittle  stalks. 

The  foliage  of  the  Yellow  Columbine  is  much  smaller  and 
more  delicate  than  that  of  A.formosa;  but  it  is  equally  dark 
green  above  and  "pale  green  beneath.  No  prettier  sight  can 
be  seen  than  clusters  of  these  wild  elfin  flowers  growing  at 
the  edge  of  some  great  barren  cliff,  their  fragile  loveliness 
shining  against  a  sombre  background  of  stony  walls,  from  the 
height  of  whose  overhanging  ledges  the  drooping  blossoms  nod 
down  at  the  traveller,  as  they  sway  and  swing  at  the  bidding 
of  the  breeze. 

YELLOW  POND  LILY 

Nuphar  poly  sep  alum.    Water-lily  Family 

•Leaves:  all  floating,  eight  to  fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  broad-ovate, 
thick,  deeply  cordate,  on  stout  half-cylindrical  petioles.  Flowers:  two  to 
five  inches  in  diameter ;  sepals  eight  to  twelve,  unequal,  concave  and 
roundish  ;  petals  eleven  to  eighteen,  dilated,  truncate,  shorter  than  the 
stamens.  Fruit:  globose,  indehiscent. 

This  Pond  Lily  has  numerous  rounded  concave  sepals,  which 
are  of  a  deep  orange -yellow  colour  inside  and  usually  streaked 
and  blotched  with  purple-red  on  the  outside,  and  assume  the 
functions  of  petals ;  for  the  real  petals  of  this  plant,  though 
very  numerous,  are  inconspicuous  and  resemble  the  stamens, 
being  thick,  short,  and  fleshy. 

The  Yellow  Pond  Lily  is  not  so  beautiful  as  its  cousin,  the 
White  Water-lily,  yet  the  golden-hued  mountain  species  is  very 
fragrant ;  it  has  handsome  floating  foliage,  and  flowers  which 
poets  have  not  disdained  to  praise. 


266  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

Longfellow  described  Hiawatha's  canoe  as  floating 

"  Upon  the  river 
Like  a  yellow  leaf  in  autumn, 
Like  a  yellow  water-lily." 

This  Nuphar,  whose  name  comes  from  the  Greek  word 
nouphar,  signifying  "Pond  Lily,"  grows  in  still  waters  and  slow 
streams,  where,  springing  from  thick,  horizontal,  deeply  sub- 
merged rootstocks,  the  long  stalks,  which  are  flattened  on  the 
inner  side  and  rounded  on  the  outer  side,  uphold  the  gleam- 
ing floral  cups.  In  many  an  alpine  lake 

"  The  bright  Nymphcza  loves  to  lave, 
And  spreads  her  golden  orbs  along  the  dimpling  wave." 

Nymphcea  signifies  "  a  water-nymph,"  and  the  botanical 
family  to  which  this  Yellow  Pond  Lily  belongs  is  called  in 
the  Latin  Nymphceacetz,  or  Water-lily  Family. 

ARCTIC  POPPY 

Papaver  nudicaule.    Poppy  Family 

Stems:  scape  erect,  hirsute.  Leaves:  all  basal,  pinnately  lobed  or  cleft, 
the  lobes  linear,  acute.  Flowers:  solitary.  Fruit:  capsule  obovoid,  densely 
beset  with  erect  bristly  hairs. 

This  is  quite  an  alpine-arctic  plant  and  grows  only  on  the 
highest  summits.  It  has  a  flower  varying  in  colour  from  yellow 
to  reddish-orange,  which  grows  on  the  top  of  a  slender,  very 
erect  stalk,  and  is  formed  like  a  common  Poppy,  but  has  only 
-four  petals.  All  the  leaves  grow  at  the  base  of  the  plant  and 
are  long-shaped  and  lobed. 

GOLDEN  CORYDALIS 

Corydalis  aurea  var.  occidentalis.    Fumitory  Family 

Commonly  low  and  spreading.  Leaves:  finely  dissected  into  oblong- 
obovate  segments.  Flowers :  in  short  spicate  racemes ;  corolla  tubular, 
irregular ;  petals  four,  one  of  the  outer  pair  spurred  at  the  base,  the 
interior  ones  narrow,  keeled  on  the  back ;  spur  half  the  length  of  the 
body  of  the  corolla.  Fruit :  pods  spreading. 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  267 

This  plant  generally  grows  low  upon  the  ground,  the  very 
finely  dissected  foliage  spreading  out  into  large  patches  that 
are  gemmed  by  the  clusters  of  golden-yellow  flowers,  whose 
form  at  once  suggests  that  of  the  Wild  Bleeding-heart.  When 
the  ripe  pods  split  open  they  disclose  and  scatter  numerous 
bright  shining  seeds. 

TREACLE  MUSTARD 

Erysimum  parviflorum.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  erect,  simple.  Leaves:  oblanceolate  or  linear,  obtuse,  entire, 
or  dentate,  the  upper  sessile,  the  lower  slender-petioled.  Flowers :  pale 
yellow.  Fruit :  the  siliques  elongated,  linear,  four-angled,  valves  strongly 
keeled  by  a  prominent  mid-vein. 

This  common  Treacle  Mustard  has  very  small  pale  yellow 
flowers  and  rather  whitish  leaves,  which  latter  grow  in  a  tuft 
at  the  base  of  the  plant  and  also  alternately  all  the  way  up 
the  stiff  erect  stems.  The  flowers  have  four  tiny  green  sepals 
and  four  yellow  petals,  which  latter  are  cruciate,  or  set  in  the 
form  of  a  cross.  The  Treacle  Mustard  belongs  to  the  Cruci- 
ferce,  or  Mustard  Family,  all  of  whose  members  have  four 
cruciform  petals. 

HEDGE  MUSTARD 

Sisymbrium  Hartwegianuin.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  slender.  Leaves:  pinnate  ;  leaflets  lanceolate,  obtuse  and  acutely 
toothed.  Flowers:  small,  yellow.  Fruit:  the  siliques  erect  on  ascending 
pedicels,  linear,  elongated. 

A  coarse  uninteresting  plant,  with  pinnately  cut  leaves,  the 
tiny  leaflets  being  sharply  toothed.  The  flowers  are  small  and 
yellow  and  the  pods  long  and  narrow. 


268  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

WILD  MUSTARD 

Brassica  Sinapistrum.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  erect,  hispid,  with  scattered  stiff  hairs.  Leaves:  oval,  coarsely 
dentate,  the  basal  ones  pinnatifid.  Flowers :  showy,  yellow,  in  elongated 
racemes.  Fruit:  the  siliques  elongated,  sessile,  tipped  with  a  flattened 
conic  beak.  Not  indigenous. 

A  handsome  species  bearing  showy  yellow  flowers  in  ter- 
minal racemes,  and  having  large  oval  leaves  that  are  very 
coarsely  toothed,  rough  to  the  touch,  and  conspicuously  veined. 
The  basal  leaves  are  lobed.  Like  all  the  Mustards,  it  has  four 
cruciform  petals. 

GOLDEN  WHITLOW-GRASS 

Draba  aurea.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  branching,  pubescent,  leafy  to  the  inflorescence.  Leaves:  basal 
ones  in  tufts,  spatulate,  obtuse,  slightly  dentate  ;  stem-leaves  oblong,  acute. 
Flowers :  yellow,  petals  twice  the  length  of  the  calyx,  entire.  Fruit :  pods 
acute,  at  length  slightly  twisted. 

A  plant  that  resembles  a  Treacle  Mustard,  but  is  much 
smaller  and  has  a  rosulate  tuft  of  leaves  at  the  base.  Tiny 
single  leaves  also  grow  up  on  the  branching  stems,  and  the 
little  deep  yellow  flowers  grow  in  close  clusters. 

D.  alpina,  or  Alpine  Whitlow-grass,  is  a  tiny  species  found 
at  extremely  high  altitudes.  The  leaves  are  all  basal  and  grow 
in  a  dense  tuft,  while  the  tiny  clusters  of  little  yellow  flowers 
are  set  on  the  top  of  short  naked  stalks.  The  whole  plant  is 
hairy  and  seldom  exceeds  four  inches  in  height. 

BLADDER-POD 

Physaria  didymocarpa.    Mustard  Family 

Stems:  decumbent  or  ascending,  slender,  simple.  Leaves:  spatulate, 
the  basal  ones  obtuse,  entire,  narrowed  into  margined  petioles ;  stem- 
leaves  nearly  sessile,  acute,  much  smaller.  Flowers:  yellow,  in  terminal 
racemes.  Fruit :  pods  didymous,  variable,  with  large,  strongly  inflated 
cavities,  emarginate  at  base  and  summit. 


PLATE  LXXV 


269 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  271 

A  most  curious  and  interesting  plant,  which  grows  on  high 
rocky  slopes  and  forms  patches  upon  the  ground  by  means  of 
its  rosettes  of  pale  green  leaves  and  decumbent  stems.  The 
little  yellow  flowers  are  cruciform  and  inconspicuous,  and 
grow  in  clusters  at  the  ends  of  the  long  slender  stalks  which 
spring  out  from  below  the  central  rosettes  of  leaves,  while  an 
irregular  circle  of  outer  leaves  grows  beyond  them  again.  It 
is  the  large  inflated  pods,  of  a  delicate  gray-green  hue,  which 
give  this  plant  its  common  name  and  constitute  its  greatest 
attraction.  They  are  really  exquisitely  quaint,  and  so  unusual 
as  to  always  attract  the  notice  of  the  passing  traveller.  The 
leaves  are  spatulate  and  small.  The  name  Physaria  is  derived 
from  the  Greek,  signifying  "bellows,"  and  refers  to  the  inflated 
fruit. 

YELLOW  VIOLET 
Viola  glabella.    Violet  Family 

Stems:  glabrous,  slender,  from  a  short  fleshy  horizontal  rhizome. 
Leaves:  radical  ones  on  long  petioles,  the  upper  short-petioled,  reniform- 
cordate,  crenately  toothed.  Flowers:  bright  yellow. 

This  is  a  small  plant  which  blooms  close  to  the  ground,  and 
is  found  chiefly  at  high  altitudes. 

"  When  beechen  buds  begin  to  swell, 

And  woods  the  bluebird's  warble  know, 
The  yellow  violet's  modest  bell 

Peeps  from  the  last  year's  leaves  below." 

Its  bright  golden  flowers  are  finely  pencilled  in  the  centre 
with  black  lines,  and  grow  on  short  slender  stalks  amid  a  mass 
of  small  roundish  leaves. 

YELLOW  MELILOT 

Melilotus  officinalis .    Pea  Family 

Stems:  ascending,  one  to  four  feet  high,  branching.  Leaves:  trifolio- 
late,  petioled,  rather  distant;  leaflets  oblong,  serrate,  narrowed  at  the 
base,  rounded  at  the  apex.  Flowers :  in  slender  racemes  ;  standard  equal- 
ling the  wings  and  keel.  Not  indigenous. 


272  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

The  Yellow  Melilot,  or  Sweet  Clover,  closely  resembles  the 
White  Sweet  Clover.  It  has  spike-like  racemes  of  tiny  clus- 
tered flowers,  which  are  very  fragrant  and  extremely  delicate 
both  in  shape  and  hue,  and  are  borne  on  tall  branching  stems, 
which  frequently  attain  a  height  of  three  or  even  four  feet. 
The  leaves  are  trifoliolate  and  smell  very  sweet  when  dried. 
They  droop  in  a  peculiar  fashion  at  night-time,  the  upper  leaflet 
and  one  side  leaflet  closing  together,  until  the  vertical  surface 
of  each  comes  in  contact  with  that  of  the  other,  while  the  third 
leaflet  is  left  alone,  exposed  to  the  chills  and  rains  of  the 
hours  of  darkness.  The  Yellow  Melilot  was  introduced  into 
this  country  from  Europe. 


LOCO- WEED 

Oxytropis  Lamberti.    Pea  Family 

Silky-pubescent  with  appressed  hairs,  acaulescent,  tufted.  Leaves: 
odd-pinnate ;  leaflets  linear,  oblong,  acute ;  peduncles  longer  than  the 
leaves.  Flowers:  in  large  dense  heads,  or  spikes.  Fruit:  pods  incompletely 
two-celled,  coriaceous,  sessile,  erect,  ovoid-cylindric,  long-acuminate. 

A  handsome  rich  cream-coloured  or  yellowish  species  of 
Oxytropis,  with  soft  whitish  silky  foliage  and  very  fine  large 
flower-spikes.  It  usually  grows  on  the  dry  alpine  meadows. 

DRUMMOND'S  DRYAS 

Dryas  Drummondii.     Rose  Family 

Low,  tufted,  herbaceous  shrubs.  Stems:  woody  at  the  base.  Leaves: 
oval,  crenate-dentate,  green  and  glabrous  above,  white-canescent  beneath. 
Flowers:  yellow,  solitary;  calyx  persistent,  its  tube  concave,  hirsute 
lobed  ;  petals  numerous  ;  style  elongated  and  plumose  in  fruit. 

This  insignificant  little  yellow  flower,  which  meekly  droops 
its  head  as  if  conscious  of  its  lack  of  good  looks,  has  the  most 
lovely  plumose  seed-heads  imaginable ;  and  there  are  few 
prettier  sights  in  the  mountains  than  that  of  some  low-lying 


PLATE  LXXVI 


DRUMMOND'S  DRYAS 
{Dryas  Drtimmondii) 

273 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  275 

alpine  meadow  literally  covered  with  these  frail  feathery  tufts, 
rising  up  on  their  long,  slender,  woody  stems  several  inches 
above  the  prostrate  foliage,  half  of  which  is  curled  over  to 
show  its  silvery  lining ;  for  all  the  leaves  of  Drummond's 
Dryas  are  green  and  shining  on  the  top  and  white  and  silky 
underneath.  The  flower  consists  of  numerous  small  yellow 
petals  enclosed  in  a  short,  hairy,  green  calyx ;  but  as  soon  as 
these  die  and  fall  off,  the  stalk  elongates  and  the  seed-head 
quickly  develops.  This  plant  will  grow  in  the  poorest  soil, 
and  is  most  frequently  found  on  arid  gravel  beds  and  in  the 
gravelly  battures  of  the  alpine  streams.  . 

YELLOW  AVENS 
Geum  strictum.    Rose  Family 

Stems:  ascending,  pubescent,  branched  above.  Leaves:  basal  ones 
lyrate-pinnate  ;  leaflets  five  to  seven,  obovate,  cuneate,  dentate,  with  a 
few  smaller  ones  interspersed,  the  terminal  one  largest ;  stem-leaves  ses- 
sile, with  three  to  five  ovate  acute  segments.  Flowers:  several,  terminal, 
of  five  petals. 

This  is  a  common  plant,  with  bright  yellow  five-petalled 
flowers  and  large  foliage.  Each  leaf  is  pinnately  divided  and 
has  one  big  terminal  segment  and  from  four  to  six  smaller 
leaflets,  interspersed  with  some  very  tiny  ones.  The  most 
noticeable  feature  is  the  fruit,  which  consists  of  a  ball  of 
seeds,  each  one  terminating  in  an  elongated  barbed  style. 

G.  macropkyllum,  or  Large-leaved  Avens,  is  very  like  the 
preceding  species,  but  it  has  much  larger,  coarser  foliage.  It 
also  has  bright  yellow  flowers  and  a  bur-like  head  of  seeds, 
each  one  of  which  terminates  in  the  same  slender,  jointed, 
hooked  style  which  is  a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  this 
genus  of  plants. 

Both  the  Yellow  Avens  and  the  Large-leaved  Avens  have 
lobed  and  toothed  leaves  and  small  clove-scented  flowers. 
They  are  rough  hairy  plants  and  resemble  weeds. 


276  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

Unattractive  as  is  the  coarse  foliage  of  the  Geums,  yet  their 
primrose-tinted  blossoms  gleam  like  jewels  of  pale  gold  amidst 
the  dark  green  leaves,  and  these  redeem  the  plants  from  utter 
ugliness. 


COMMON  CINQUEFOIL 

Potentilla  dissecta.    Rose  Family 

Steins:  decumbent  or  ascending.  Leaves:  pinnate;  leaflets  five  to 
seven,  the  upper  one  incisely  pinnatifid,  dentate.  Flowers:  few,  in  an 
open  cyme. 

This  is  a  low  alpine  plant,  more  or  less  silky  and  hairy,  and 
has  a  yellow  flower  with  a  five-lobed  calyx  and  five  roundish 
petals.  It  resembles  a  miniature  rose.  The  foliage  consists  of 
from  five  to  seven  toothed  leaflets  on  each  stem,  the  terminal 
leaflet  being  three-lobed  at  the  apex. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  this  species  :  P.  dissecta  var. 
glancophylla  has  smooth  green  leaves  ;  P.  dissecta  var.  multi- 
secta  has  whitish  silky  foliage,  each  leaflet  being  long  and 
narrow ;  and  P.  dissecta  var.  pinnatisecta  has  more  numerous 
leaflets  and  a  one-flowered  stem,  which  grows  only  about  three 
inches  high,  the  whole  plant  being  smooth,  with  the  exception 
of  the  hairy  calyx  and  tufted  apices  of  the  leaves. 

Many  of  the  Cinqueroils  (cinque,  "five"  ;  fetiilles,  "leaves") 
have  five-parted  leaves,  hence  their  common  name. 

P.  Anserina,  or  Silver-weed,  is  a  tufted  plant,  with  elongated 
pinnate  leaves  composed  of  from  seven  to  seventeen  leaflets, 
which  are  sharply  toothed,  green,  and  smooth  on  the  top,  and 
very  silky  and  whitish  underneath.  A  characteristic  feature 
of  the  Silver-weed  is  the  minute  pairs  of  leaflets  which  grow 
between  the  real  leaflets,  but  are  merely  tiny  pointed  growths. 
The  yellow  flowers,  which  are  typical  of  the  whole  genus  and 
have  five  bracts,  five  sepals,  five  petals,  and  numerous  stamens, 
grow  on  slender  naked  stalks  that  spring  from  the  axils  of  the 


PLATE  LXXVII 


YELLOW  WILLOW-HERB 
(Epilobium  luteum) 

277 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  279 

leaves.    The  flowers  are  very  pretty  and  velvety,  and  commonly 
grow  in  the  moist  meadows,  for  there 

"  The  silver-weed  with  yellow  flowers, 

Half  hidden  by  the  leaf  of  gray, 
Blooms  on  the  bank  of  that  clear  brook 
Whose  music  cheers  my  lonely  way." 

The  Silver-weed  creeps  along  the  ground  by  means  of 
slender  many -jointed  runners,  and  its  stems  are  usually 
curved  and  winding.  When  the. fruit  ripens  it  consists  of  a 
head  formed  of  several  little  achenes,  or  nutlets.  The  Po ten- 
til  las  are  very  numerous  in  the  mountain  regions. 

P.  argnta,  or  Tall  Cinquefoil,  is  a  handsome  plant,  with 
coarse  pinnate  leaves,  the  terminal  one  being  wedge-shaped 
and  three-cleft  at  the  top,  and  has  small  white  flowers  growing 
abundantly  in  loose  clusters. 

P.  Norvegica,  or  Rough  Cinquefoil,  is  a  coarse  weed-like 
plant,  with  leaves  that  are  divided  into  three  leaflets,  and 
yellow  flowers  that  grow  in  rather  close  leafy  clusters. 

P.  Hippiana,  or  Woolly  Cinquefoil,  is  a  stout  plant,  with 
quantities  of  densely  floccose  and  silky  foliage.  The  leaflets 
are  whitish  and  woolly  on  both  sides,  and  deeply  dentated. 
The  flowers  are  bright  yellow,  and  grow  in  graceful  terminal 
clusters. 

P.  gracilis,  or  Small  Cinquefoil,  has  very  small  leaves, 
heart-shaped  in  outline  and  composed  of  from  three  to  seven 
leaflets,  which  are  white  and  woolly  beneath  and  green  and 
silky  on  the  top.  The  little  flowers  are  yellow. 

P.  nivea,  or  Alpine  Cinquefoil,  grows  at  great  altitudes  and 
is  found  at  8500  feet.  It  is  a  tiny  plant,  with  small  trifoliate 
white  and  woolly  leaves  and  wee  terminal  yellow  flowers. 

In  studying  the  Potentillas  it  is  wise  to  refer  to  the 
Ranunculi,  also  recorded  in  this  Section,  and  note  the  close 
resemblance  yet  distinct  variations  which  exist  between  the 
two  genera.  The  differences  between  the  foliage  of  the 


280  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

Potentillas  and  that  of  the  Ranunculi  have  already  been 
referred  to  in  the  description  of  the  latter  plants,  but  it  may 
be  further  noted  here  that  the  stamens  of  the  Ranunculi  are 
hypogynous,  or  borne  at  the  base  or  below  the  ovary,  while 
those  of  the  Potentillas  are  perigynous,  or  borne  on  the  peri- 
anth around  the  ovary. 

YELLOW  SAXIFRAGE 

Saxifraga  aizoides.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems:  leafy.  Leaves:  alternate,  linear,  thick,  fleshy,  mucronate- 
tipped,  narrowed  at  the  base,  sessile,  the  margins  sparingly  ciliate. 
Flowers :  several,  corymbose  ;  petals  five,  oblong,  yellow,  usually  spotted 
with  orange ;  calyx  five-lobed,  base  of  the  capsule  adnate  to  the  calyx ; 
stamens  ten,  inserted  with  the  petals.  Fruit:  ovary  two-celled,  two- 
lobed  at  the  summit ;  styles  short ;  stigmas  capitate. 

This  Yellow  Saxifrage  grows  among  the  wet  rocks  at  very 
high  altitudes.  It  has  slender  stems,  adorned  with  alternate 
leaves,  which  are  long  and  narrow  and  edged  with  a  few  fine 
hairs.  The  flowers  grow  erect  and  open  out  very  wide,  their 
petals  being  usually  spotted  with  orange.  The  ten  stamens  are 
conspicuous,  and  so  is  the  large  two-celled  ovary,  while  the 
styles  are  short  and  tipped  with  roundish  stigmas.  This  plant 
grows  in  dense  tufted  clusters  from  two  to  six  inches  high,  and 
may  be  found  in  the  most  sun-forsaken  crannies,  where  the  icy 
breezes  blow  across  the  snow-fields. 


STONECROP 

Sedum  stenopetalum.    Orpine  Family 

Flowering  branches  erect.  Leaves:  alternate,  crowded,  but  scarcely 
imbricated  except  on  the  sterile  shoots,  sessile,  linear,  entire.  Flowers: 
in  a  three-to-seven  forked  cyme,  compact;  petals  narrowly  lanceolate, 
very  acute,  much  exceeding  the  calyx-lobes. 

This  plant  is  well  named  Sedum,  from  seder e  "to  sit,"  for 
it  sits  very  happily,  and  in  lowly  fashion,  upon  the  bleak 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  281 

bald  hills  at  high  altitudes.  It  is  a  most  uncanny  plant.  The 
tiny,  pale  green,  juicy  leaves,  crowded  on  the  thick  short 
stems,  are,  like  human  flesh,  easily  bruised  ;  and  each  of  the 
bright  yellow  flowers,  which  grow  in  dense  clusters,  has  four 
or  five  narrow  pointed  petals.  There  are  ten  stamens,  the 
alternate  ones  being  attached  to  the  petals.  The  five  erect 
carpels  are  tipped  with  long  conspicuous  and  divergent  styles, 
crowned  by  fat  stigmas. 

The  smooth  clammy  foliage  of  the  Stonecrop  reminds  the 
traveller  forcibly  of  the  narrow  gap  which  lies  between  the 
Animal  and  the  Vegetable  Kingdoms,  for  the  touch  of  its 
fleshy  leaves  is  most  repulsive,  resembling  that  of  some  cold 
moist  body.  Fortunately,  however,  it  is  redeemed  from  being 
entirely  objectionable  by  the  twinkling  little  golden  blossoms, 
which  are  as  healthy  and  natural  in  their  appearance  as  the 
foliage  is  the  very  reverse. 

"  Flower  in  the  crannied  wall, 
I  pluck  you  out  of  the  crannies. 
I  hold  you  here,  root  and  all,  in  my  hand, 
Little  flower  —  but  if  I  could  understand 
What  you  are,  root  and  all,  and  all  in  all, 
I  should  know  what  God  and  man  is." 

"  No  deeper  thought  was  ever  uttered  by  poet,"  says  John 
Fiske,  in  his  beautiful  work,  Through  Nature  to  God;  "for 
in  this  world  of  plants,  which,  with  its  magician,  chlorophyll, 
conjuring  with  sunbeams,  is  ceaselessly  at  work  bringing  life 
out  of  death  —  in  this  quiet  vegetable  world  we  may  find  the 
elementary  principles  of  all  life  in  almost  visible  operation." 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  confuse  the  Yellow  Saxifrage 
with  the  Stonecrop.  The  former  has  tiny,  thin,  ordinary  leaves, 
while  the  latter  has  leaves  that  are  thick,  fleshy,  and  very 
juicy.  This  peculiar  foliage  of  the  Stonecrop  enables  it  to 
retain  a  quantity  of  moisture  during  the  dry  season,  an  attri- 
bute which  proves  extremely  useful,  since  it  grows  in  crevices 


282  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

and  crannies  between  the  rocks,  where  the  sparse  dry  soil 
affords  little  or  no  sustenance  to  the  roots  ;  hence  its  ability 
to  imbibe  and  retain  moisture  through  its  leaves  renders  it  fit 
to  flourish  on  these  sandy  and  stony  slopes. 

YELLOW  WILLOW-HERB 

Epilobium  luteum.    Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems:  slender,  nearly  simple.  Leaves:  ovate,  acute,  sinuate-toothed, 
sessile.  Flowers :  from  the  axils  of  the  upper  somewhat  crowded  leaves  ; 
corolla  funnel-form,  rarely  expanding,  the  lobes  deeply  notched;  calyx 
short  and  deeply  cleft. 

The  pale  lemon-coloured  flowers  of  the  Yellow  Willow-herb 
grow  in  quantities  near  running  water,  or  in  the  deep  moist 
valleys  where  the  rushes  whisper  in  their  husky  throats  and 
the  moss  weaves  lace-like  patterns  to  cover  the  ground.  The 
plant  stands  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  high,  and  has  large, 
conspicuously  veined  leaves,  with  wavy  margins,  which  are 
very  sharply  toothed.  The  flowers  are  extremely  pretty  and 
delicate  in  hue ;  their  four  petals,  folded  in  funnel-form,  rarely 
expand,  and  are  held  up  in  green  calyx-cups,  which  in  their 
turn  are  cleft  into  four  narrow  slender  divisions. 


EVENING  PRIMROSE 

QLnothera  biennis.    Evening  Primrose  Family 

Stems:  erect,  stout,  wand-like.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  acute,  narrowed 
and  sessile  at  the  base,  repand-denticulate.  Flowers:  spicate,  terminal, 
leafy-bracted  ;  calyx-tube  slender,  the  lobes  linear,  reflexed. 

The  Evening  Primrose,  whose  bright  yellow  blossoms  open 
in  the  twilight,  somewhat  resembles  the  Yellow  Willow-herb, 
whose  paler  flowers  bloom  at  the  bidding  of  the  sunshine. 
Seen  in  the  daytime,  the  Evening  Primrose  appears  faded  and 
uninteresting ;  but  viewed  at  night,  its  fragrant  flowers  are 
exceedingly  attractive.  The  plant  grows  to  an  average  height 


PLATE  LXXVIII 


FIELD  GOLDEN-ROD 

(Soli dago  decumbens) 


283 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  285 

of  three  feet,  and  has  alternate  lance-shaped  leaves  and  erect 
buds.  No  sooner  has  the  sun  set  than  the  buds  begin  to 
expand,  the  closely  closed  calyx  suddenly  bursting  open  with 
a  loud  pop,  and  then  one  by  one  the  petals  slowly  unfold,  until 
the  whole  sulphur-coloured  flower  is  wide-blown  and  sends 
forth  its  sweet  fragrance  to  scent  the  evening  air. 

"A  tuft  of  evening  primroses 
O'er  which  the  mind  might  hover  till  it  dozes, 
But  that  it's  ever  startled  by  the  leap 
Of  buds  into  ripe  flowers." 

A  single  summer  night  suffices  to  consume  the  vitality  and 
beauty  of  this  flower,  which  at  evening  is  fresh  and  fair  and 
newly  blown,  and  by  noon  looks  faded  and  most  dejected.  It 
is  strange  how  very  fragrant  and  lovely  are  many  of  these 
"  flowers  that  blow  when  the  heat  of  the  day  is  o'er,"  such, 
for  instance,  as  the  Night-blooming  Jessamine,  the  Night- 
blooming  Cereus,  and  the  Night-blooming  Cactus.  The  yellow 
petals  of  the  Evening  Primrose  shine  so  luminously  in  the 
dusk  that  they  easily  attract  the  crepuscular  moths,  which 
fertilize  the  plants  by  carrying  the  abundant  sticky  pollen 
from  one  flower  to  another.  The  number  four  is  conspicu- 
ous in  this  flower,  which  has  four  petals,  a  four-parted  calyx, 
eight  stamens,  a  four-celled  ovary,  and  a  four-cleft  stigma. 
When  the  corolla  fades,  after  its  single  night  of  revelry,  it 
soon  shrivels  and  drops  off,  and  then  the  oblong  capsule 
containing  the  seeds  quickly  matures. 


MEADOW  PARSNIP 

Thaspium  cordatum.    Parsley  Family 

Stems:  erect,  branched.  Leaves:  upper  stem-leaves  compound,  short- 
petioled,  ternate,  the  segments  ovate,  crenate-dentate ;  basal  leaves  long- 
petioled,  sometimes  undivided.  Flowers:  in  umbels,  eight-to-twelve  rayed. 
Fruit:  globose-ovoid. 


286  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

The  bright  shining  green  leaves  of  this  Parsnip  and  its 
brilliant  golden  umbels  of  minute  flowers  combine  to  render 
it  one  of  the  many  handsome  plants  that  deck  the  damp 
alpine  meadows.  It  has  stout  hollow  stalks  and  very  glossy 
foliage,  the  leaves  being  ternate,  or  arranged  in  threes,  with 
broad,  wavy -margined,  sharply  toothed  leaflets.  It  has  a  most 
disagreeable  odour. 

HAIRY  GOLDEN  ASTER 

Chrysopsis  villosa.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  villous.  Leaves:  alternate,  oblong,  obtuse,  the  upper  ones 
sessile,  the  lower  ones  narrowed  into  a  petiole,  pale,  canescent  with 
appressed  hairs.  Flowers:  heads  few,  terminating  the  short  branches; 
rays  oblong-linear  ;  involucre  hemispheric.  Fru.it :  achenes  obovate. 

The  yellow  Aster  is  a  very  hairy  plant,  as  denoted  by  its 
common  name ;  it  affects  dry  or  sandy  soil,  and  grows  from 
six  to  eighteen  inches  high.  The  stems  are  simple,  and  near 
the  summit  short  branches  spread  out,  terminating  in  the 
solitary  heads,  which  are  composed  of  both  tubular  and  radiate 
flowers.  These  bright  golden  flowers  are  enclosed  in  an  invo- 
lucre, which  is  formed  of  several  series  of  tiny  green  bracts. 
The  name  Chrysopsis,  from  chrysos,  "gold,"  and  opsis,  "aspect," 
is  peculiarly  applicable  to  these  gay  yellow  blossoms,  which 
glorify  the  dry  waste  places  with  their  shining  splendour. 

APLOPAPPUS 

Aplopappus  Brandegei.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  from  a  tufted  caudex,  cinereous-pubescent,  the  involucre  lanu- 
ginose-tomentose.  Leaves :  radical  ones  obovate  or  spatulate,  contracted 
into  a  slender  petiole  ;  cauline  ones  few,  sparse,  small.  Flowers :  in  heads 
of  radiate  and  disk-flowers  ;  rays  eight  to  twelve,  ligulate,  pistillate, 
oblong  ;  disk  corollas  perfect,  dilated  towards  the  summit,  deeply  five- 
toothed.  Fruit :  achenes  oblong-turbinate,  densely  silky  villous. 

This  is  a  dwarf  herbaceous  plant,  with  a  tuft  of  tiny  green 
leaves  at  the  base  and  one  or  two  minute  ones  clinging  to  its 


PLATE  LXXIX 


GIANT  SUNFLOWER 
(Helianthtis  giganteus) 


287 


.  OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  289 

stems.  It  grows  only  from  three  to  six  inches  high,  and  is 
found  on  lofty  summits  at  8000  and  9000  feet.  The  flowers 
resemble  bright  yellow  daisies,  and  are  rather  ragged  looking. 
At  times,  as  the  traveller  stands  upon  the  crest  of  some 
mountain  top,  where  the  earth  seems  very  close  to  the  sky  of 
perfect  blue,  the  gamboge  blossoms  of  the  Aplopapptis,  cover- 
ing the  ground  with  a  torrent  of  bloom,  seem  to  surge  across 
the  alpine  plateaus  in  a  succession  of  golden  waves. 

CANADA  GOLDEN-ROD 

Solidago  Canadensis.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  stout,  little  branched,  puberulent.  Leaves:  alternate,  lanceolate, 
triple-nerved,  acute  at  each  end,  the  lower  ones  sharply  serrate  and  peti- 
oled,  the  upper  ones  smaller,  entire,  sessile.  Flowers:  heads  numerous, 
of  both  tubular  and  radiate  flowers,  on  the  spreading  or  recurving 
branches  of  the  large  and  dense  panicles ;  involucre  campanulate,  the 
bracts  linear,  imbricated  in  several  series  ;  rays  in  one  series,  pistillate  ; 
disk-flowers  nearly  all  perfect ;  corolla  tubular,  five-cleft. 

The  Golden-rods,  many  species  of  which  grow  abundantly 
in  the  mountain  districts,  are,  together  with  the  Asters,  the 
handsomest  of  the  late  autumn  flowers.  Retaining  the  rich 
glow  of  the  summer  sun  in  their  ripe  yellow  blossoms,  they 
brighten  the  slopes  and  border  the  trails  with  a  reflected 
glory.  For  the  Golden-rod  is  at  home  in  all  kinds  of  places  : 
by  the  dusty  wayside  and  in  the  deep  green  forests ;  close  to 
the  borders  of  the  ice-born  streams,  and  out  in  the  open 
meadows,  where  the  rays  of  light  at  noontide  shine  strongest. 
In  each  of  these  localities  the  tall  wands,  bearing  their  wealth 
of  golden  florets,  wave  gently  to  and  fro,  and  never  can  we 
mistake  the  feathery  plumes  of  the  larger  species,  or  the 
straight  woody  stems  of  the  smaller  ones,  which  are  so  thickly 
crowned  by  the  tiny  radiant  flowers  of  this  queen  of  Nature's 
garden. 

It  is  a  more  difficult  matter,  however,  to  differentiate 
between  the  many  species  of  Golden-rod  that  grow  at  high 


290  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

altitudes.  The  Canada  Golden-rod  is  perhaps  the  easiest  one 
to  recognize,  since  it  is  the  largest  as  well  as  the  handsomest 
of  its  tribe,  and  has  big  branching  panicles  of  close-clustered 
blossoms,  very  long,  narrow,  pointed  leaves  of  a  dull  grayish- 
green  hue,  and  stout  woody  stems,  which  have  a  cottony 
appearance  and  attain  an  average  height  of  three  feet. 

So  numerous  are  the  Golden-rods  on  this  continent  that  it 
is  possible  to  note  only  a  few  of  the  more  conspicuous  species 
which  the  traveller  is  likely  to  find  and  gather  in  the  course 
of  his  wanderings  amid  the  great  hills,  where 

"  Along  the  roadside,  like  the  flowers  of  gold 
That  tawny  Incas  for  their  gardens  wrought, 
Heavy  with  sunshine  droops  the  golden-rod." 

S.  decumbens,  or  Field  Golden-rod,  has  tall,  stiff,  wand-like 
stems,  which  terminate  in  dense  compact  panicles  of  flowers, 
and  sparse,  long,  narrow  leaves,  with  even  margins.  It  is 
very  beautiful  to  walk  across  the  alpine  fields,  where 

"  The  golden-rod  lights  slowly 
Its  torch  for  the  Autumn  blaze," 

and  where  the  other  fall  flowers  unite  to  celebrate  the  pass- 
ing of  summer  in  a  riotous  splendour  of  scarlet,  purple,  and 
gold,  and  there  revel  in  the  sun-like  smiles  of  these  gay  blos- 
soms that  illumine  the  landscape. 

5.  multiradiata  var.  scopulorum,  or  Northern  Golden-rocl, 
is  a  coarser  species  with  small  loose  clusters  of  rather  large 
deep  yellow  flowers,  which  terminate  the  leafy  downy  stems. 

"How  deepening  bright,  like  mounting  flame,  doth  burn 
The  golden-rod  upon  a  thousand  hills. 
This  is  the  Autumn's  flower,  and  to  my  soul 
A  token  fresh  of  beauty  and  of  life, 
And  life's  supreme  delight." 

6".  Missouriensis,  or  Mountain  Golden-rod,  has  a  perfectly 
smooth  slender  stem  and  short,  broad,  branching  panicles 
of  yellow  flowers.  The  leaves  are  thick  and  lance-shaped, 


PLATE  LXXX 


\ 


:  T 


GREAT-FLOWERED  GAILLARDIA 

(Gaillardia  aristatd) 


291 


OF   THE 

|   UNIVERSITY   J 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  293 

with  entire  rough  margins.  It  grows  in  dry  soil  and  rears 
its  clusters  of  golden  bloom  where  the  sunlight  and  shade 
interlace  at  the  edge  of  the  forests. 

S.  nemoralis,  or  Gray  Golden-rod,  is  so  called  on  account 
of  its  gray-green  cottony  stems  and  leaves.  The  latter  are 
lance-shaped  and  sharply  toothed. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Golden-rods  grow  everywhere,  from 
the  high  hill-crests  to  the  deep  sweet  valleys ;  that  some 
species  attain  to  a  height  of  six  feet  under  certain  very  favour- 
able conditions,  while  others  grow  in  dwarf  alpine  forms,  well- 
nigh  prostrate  upon  the  ground ;  some  are  slender-stemmed, 
some  have  stout  woody  support ;  some  bear  big  branching 
panicles  of  abundant  bloom,  while  others  again  have  but  few 
blossoms  closely  clustered  about  their  erect  stalks.  Yet  in 
spite  of  all  these  many  differences  between  the  various  species, 
the  Golden-rods  are  quite  unmistakable  as  a  genus. 

GIANT   SUNFLOWER 

Helianthus  giganteus.    Composite  Family 

Perennial  by  fleshy  roots  and  creeping  rootstocks.  Stems :  erect,  his- 
pid, branched  near  the  summit.  Leaves:  lanceolate,  very  rough  above, 
pubescent  beneath,  serrate,  acuminate  at  the  apex,  narrowed  at  the  base. 
Flowers:  rays  spreading,  entire;  disk-flowers  perfect,  fertile;  corolla  tu- 
bular, the  tube  short,  the  limb  five-lobed  ;  involucre  hemispheric,  hirsute. 

What  the  cultivated  Sunflower  is  to  the  other  dwellers 
in  old-fashioned  gardens  the  wild  Giant  Sunflower  is  to  the 
other  dwellers  in  the  woodlands.  It  is  the  gorgeous  ornament 
and  lord  of  the  locality,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  all  the 
many  flowers  that  might  fairly  be  designated  by  the  term  helios, 
"the  sun,"  and  anthos,  "a  flower";  for  the  yellow  Asters, 
Aplopappi,  Gaillardias,  Arnicas,  and  Ragworts  are  really  all 
equally  amenable  to  this  title. 

The  Giant  Sunflower  has  five  large  blossoms,  composed  of 
numerous  bright  yellow  rays  and  a  disk  of  perfect  fertile  florets. 
The  leaves  are  lance-shaped  and  very  rough  to  the  touch. 


294  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

The  Irish  poet,  Moore,  referring  to  this  flower  as  an 
emblem  of  constancy,  has  sung  that 

"  The  sunflower  turns  on  her  god  when  he  sets 
The  same,  look  which  she  turn'd  when  he  rose." 

But  fact,  unfortunately,  refuses  to  corroborate  his  romantic 
fancy,  for  alas  !  the  Helianthus  does  not  turn  its  big  golden 
flower-face  from  east  to  west  to  follow  the  course  of  the  sun 
god,  but,  on  the  contrary,  remains  in  the  same  position  all 
day  long. 

In  olden  days,  in  Peru  and  Mexico,  this  flower  occupied 
an  important  place  both  in  the  mythology  and  in  the  sculpture 
of  the  country,  and  also  was  employed  as  a  mystic  and  sacred 
emblem  by  the  inhabitants.  The  maidens  who  waited  upon 
the  sun  god  in  the  temple  wore  on  their  breasts  representa- 
tions of  it  executed  in  beaten  gold,  and  it  also  was  extensively 
cultivated  in  the  gardens  of  the  priests. 

The  ancient  Greeks  believed  that  the  Helianthus  was  the 
incarnation  of  the  nymph  Clytie,  who  by  reason  of  her  great 
love  for  Apollo  sat  for  nine  days  upon  the  ground  intently 
gazing  at  the  orb  of  day,  until  at  length  she  became  rooted 
to  the  earth  and  her  face  was  transformed  into  the  shining 
disk  of  the  Sunflower. 

All  these  legends  tend,  perhaps,  to  increase  our  interest  in 
this  handsome  plant,  whose  brilliant-hued  blossoms  burn  with 
a  golden  light  in  the  mountain  thickets  and  whose  leaves 
make  a  waving  of  slight  shadows  across  the  land. 

GREAT-FLOWERED  GAILLARDIA 

Gaillardia  aristata.    Composite  Family 

Stems  :  simple,  or  little  branched,  hirsute  with  jointed  hairs.  Leaves : 
firm,  densely  pubescent,  the  lower  and  basal  ones  petioled,  oblong,  lacin- 
iate,  pinnatifid  or  entire ;  upper  leaves  sessile,  lanceolate,  entire  or  den- 
tate. Flowers :  large-peduncled,  heads  of  tubular  and  radiate  flowers  ; 
rays  cuneate,  three-toothed ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  hirsute. 


PLATE  LXXXI 


HE  ART- LEAF  ARNICA 

(Arnica  c  or  di folia) 
,295 


OF   THE  \ 

1    UNIVERSITY    I 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  297 

A  gorgeous  radiant  blossom,  with  numerous  bright  golden 
rays,  which  are  three-lobed  at  the  apex,  and  having  also  a  big, 
fringed,  globose,  reddish-brown  centre,  composed  of  many 
minute  disk-flowers.  The  leaves  are  coarse,  the  larger  ones 
being  toothed  half-way  in  the  middle. 

There  are  meadows  in  the  mountains  rendered  more  beau- 
tiful than  any  others  by  reason  of  these  great  showy  Gail- 
lardias. 

Gaillardia  Land  !  It  lies  far  from  the  busy  marts  of  men. 
Blue  heavens  above,  and  golden  flowers  about  your  feet,  and 
all  the  world  full  of  a  very  abandon  of  colour.  Here 

"A  thousand  odours  rise, 
Breathed  up  from  blossoms  of  a  thousand  dyes." 

Ways  of  peace  lead  over  the  fields  of  rest,  and  whosoever 
wanders  therein  finds  sweet  food  for  dreams,  and  gladness 
all  the  way. 

"  Blue  of  a  burning,  boundless  sky, 

Gold  of  a  boundless,  splendid  sod  ; 
Prodigal  noontide,  far  and  nigh, 

Blue  and  gold  on  the  plains  of  God." 

HEART-LEAF  ARNICA 

Arnica  cordifolia.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  simple,  or  sparingly  branched.  Leaves :  basal  and  lower  ones 
ovate,  obtuse  and  deeply  cordate  at  the  base,  dentate ;  stem-leaves  in 
pairs,  ovate,  sessile,  small.  Flowers  :  large  long-peduncled  heads  of  both 
tubular  and  radiate  flowers ;  receptacle  flat ;  rays  slightly  toothed  at 
the  apex. 

This  is  the  most  common  species  of  Arnica  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  is  a  handsome  plant,  standing  from  one  to  two  feet 
high.  It  has  pale  green  hairy  leaves,  which  are  markedly 
heart-shaped  at  the  base,  and  many  attractive  blossoms  com- 
posed of  light  golden  rays,  their  deep  yellow  centres  consist- 
ing of  numerous  disk-flowers.  These  blossoms,  which  are 


298  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

enclosed  in  a  hairy  involucre,  formed  by  a  series  of  narrow 
green  bracts,  grow  singly  or  in  pairs  at  the  ends  of  the  long 
slender  stalks. 

A.  Chamissonis,  or  Chamisso's  Arnica,  is  an  extremely 
hairy  species,  usually  found  near  water.  The  leaves  are  very 
long  and  narrow,  and  slightly  toothed  ;  the  flowers  are  smaller 
than  those  of  the  Heart-leaf  Arnica,  and  grow  in  clusters. 

A.  alpina,  or  Alpine  Arnica,  is  a  graceful  delicately  formed 
plant,  with  long,  narrow,  toothed  leaves,  and  a  single  flower 
terminating  each  stem.  It  also  frequently  has  two  additional 
flowers  springing  from  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves.  Several 
pairs  of  leaves  grow  on  the  stems,  and  altogether  the  plant 
presents  a  more  slender,  refined  appearance  than  do  either 
of  the  two  preceding  species. 

A.  Parryi,  or  Parry's  Arnica,  bears  a  curious  flower  with 
no  rays  at  all,  but  only  a  receptacle  of  disk-flowers  enclosed 
in  a  green  involucre.  These  flower-heads  usually  grow  in  threes 
at  the  summit  of  the  three  short-branched  stems.  They  appear 
to  have  simply  lost  their  rays  in  the  early  stage  of  decompo- 
sition, but  such  is  not  the  case ;  they  never  had  any. 

GOLDEN  RAGWORT 

Senecio  Balsamitce.    Composite  Family 

Perennial,  often  tufted.  Stems :  slender,  woolly  at  the  base  and  in  the 
axils  of  the  lower  leaves.  Leaves:  basal  ones  slender-petioled,  oblong, 
very  obtuse,  crenate  ;  stem-leaves  pinnatifid,  sessile,  small.  Flowers :  in 
corymbose  many-flowered  heads  of  both  tubular  and  ray-flowers. 

This  is  a  very  'common  plant  in  the  mountains.  It  has 
bright  yellow  flowers,  which  when  in  seed  resemble  small 
thistles.  The  rich  loose  clusters  of  the  Golden  Ragwort 
grow  to  an  average  height  of  eighteen  inches.  The  basal 
leaves  have  long  stalks  and  are  rounded  or  oblong,  with  scal- 
loped edges,  while  the  stem-leaves  are  long,  narrow,  and  slen- 
der, and  very  deeply  cut.  The  name  Senecio  is  from  senex, 


PLATE  LXXXII 


ALPINE  ARNICA 
{Arnica  alpina) 

299 


( 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  301 

"an  old  man,"  and  refers  to  the  hoary -headed  appearance  of 
the  plant  when  in  seed,  which  is  supposed  to  resemble  the 
silky  white  hair  of  the  patriarch. 

Different  species  of  Ragworts  are  quite  numerous  at  high 
altitudes.  They  all  have  yellow  flowers  of  various  hues,  shad- 
ing from  primrose  to  amber  and  orange ;  but  the  Golden 
Ragwort  is  the  most  abundant  of  them  all.  It  is  principally 
by  their  widely  diverse  foliage  that  the  Senecios  must  be 
distinguished. 

So  bright  and  gay  are  these  flowers,  and  all  their  fellows 
of  golden  mean,  that  we  are  compelled  to  wonder  what  caused 
Wordsworth,  gentlest  of  poets  and  truest  of  Nature  lovers, 

to  write  : 

"  111  befall  the  yellow  flowers, 
Children  of  the  flaring  hours." 

What  would  the  meadows  be  without  the  Dandelions,  the 
Sunflowers,  the  Golden-rods,  and  the  Arnicas  ?  The  land 
would  lose  much  of  its  charm  in  Autumn  did  not  these  bril- 
liant blossoms  blazon  back  the  beams  of  the  declining  sun. 

S.  triangularis ,  or  Giant  Ragwort,  is  a  large  coarse  species 
with  closely  set  flower-heads  and  numerous  long  triangular 
leaves,  strongly  veined,  and  sharply  toothed  at  the  edges. 

vS.  canus,  or  Silvery  Groundsel,  is  exactly  described  by  its 
name,  for  it  has  white  silky  stems  and  leaves  and  pale  yellow 
flowers.  It  is  a  small  plant  and  grows  on  the  dry  open 
meadows.  The  basal  leaves  are  oblong  and  have  even  mar- 
gins, while  the  tiny  stem-leaves  are  slightly  toothed. 

5.  lugens,  or  Black-tipped  Groundsel,  is  so  called  on  account 
of  the  conspicuous  little  black  tips  distinguishing  the  bracts 
of  its  involucres,  or  green  cups,  which  hold  up  the  deep 
amber-coloured  flowers.  The  basal  leaves  are  very  long  and 
toothed  ;  the  upper  leaves  cling  closely  to  the  stem,  and  are 
small,  bract-like,  and  smooth. 


302 


YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 


MANY-FLOWERED  HAWKSBEARD 

Crepis  elegans.    Composite  Family 

Stems :  many  from  a  tap-root,  diffusely  branched.  Leaves :  entire,  or 
nearly  so,  radical  ones  spatulate,  cauline  ones  lanceolate  to  linear. 
Flowers:  in  small  numerous-clustered  heads.  Fruit:  achenes  linear-fusi- 
form, minutely  scabrous  on  equal  narrow  ribs,  attenuate  into  a  short 
slender  beak ;  pappus  copious  of  very  slender  white  bristles. 

The  Hawksbeards  are  all  yellow,  and  their  rays  are  squared 
and  finely  toothed  at  the  tips,  a  characteristic  which  enables 
the  traveller  to  at  once  distinguish  them  from  the  Arnicas, 
to  which  they  bear  a  strong  resemblance. 

The  Hawksbeards  are  not  very  pretty  or  very  interesting 
flowers,  yet  they  contribute  their  share  of  golden  strands  to 
Nature's  summer  carpet. 

C.  nana,  or  Alpine  Hawksbeard,  is  a  small  alpine  species 
that  grows  at  an  altitude  of  8000  feet,  on  barren  rocky 
ground.  It  is  a  tiny  plant,  forming  tufts  and  bearing  many 
clusters  of  small  flowers. 

C.  runcinata,  or  Naked-stemmed  Hawksbeard,  has  a  cluster 
of  long-shaped  leaves  at  the  base,  and  slim,  almost  leafless 
stems,  terminating  in  single  yellow  flowers.  It  grows  in  moist 
soil. 

HAIRY  HAWKWEED 

Hieracium  Scouleri.     Composite  Family 

Pubescent  with  long  crisp  hairs,  pale  green.  Stems:  one  to  two  feet 
high,  very  leafy.  Leaves  :  lanceolate,  sessile.  Flowers :  in  a  loose  irregular 
panicle  ;  involucral  bracts  imbricated  in  two  or  three  series  ;  rays  truncate, 
five-toothed  at  the  apex. 

A  lovely  plant !  The  pale  green  stems,  leaves,  and  buds, 
thickly  clothed  with  fine  silvery  hairs,  and  the  brilliant  golden 
flowers  form  an  exquisite  contrast,  delighting  the  eye  of  the 
traveller.  This  Hawkweed  is  comparatively  rare  in  the 
mountains. 


PLATE  LXXXIII 


GOLDEN  RAGWORT 

(Senecio  Balsamitce) 

3°3 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  305 

H.  gracile,  or  Small  Hawkweed,  has  tiny  yellow  or  white 
flowers  borne  at  the  end  of  the  long,  slender,  branching  stems. 
They  resemble  miniature  Dandelions  and  are  very  abundant. 
Like  the  Hawksbeards,  the  rays  of  the  Hawkweeds  are  trun- 
cate, or  cut  off  squarely  at  the  ends,  and  finely  toothed. 

LARGE-FLOWERED  FALSE  DANDELION 

Troximon  glaucum.    Composite  Family 

Stems:  scape  naked,  slender,  pubescent.  Leaves:  all  basal,  linear, 
lanceolate,  crenulate,  acuminate  at  the  apex.  Flowers:  heads  solitary, 
yellow  ;  rays  truncate,  five-toothed. 

A  flower  very  like  a  real  Dandelion,  but  with  totally  dif- 
ferent foliage.  The  False  Dandelion  may  always  be  distin- 
guished by  its  long  ribbon-like  leaves,  which  grow  up  from 
the  base  of  the  plant  and  have  slightly  wavy  margins. 

T.  aurantiacum,  or  Copper  False  Dandelion,  has  deep 
orange  or  copper-coloured  flowers,  or  very  occasionally  pur- 
plish flowers. 

COMMON  DANDELION 

Taraxacum  officinale  var.  lividum.     Composite  Family 

Scapes  and  leaves  from  the  crown  of  a  thick  vertical  root.  Leaves : 
lanceolate  in  outline,  and  from  irregularly  dentate  to  runcinate-pinnatirid. 
Flowers:  in  solitary  heads  at  the  summit  of  the  hollow  scapes;  rays 
numerous  ;  involucre  a  single  series  of  nearly  equal  narrow  bracts,  and 
several  calyculate  ones,  the  outer  reflexed,  all  acute. 

"  Common  "  as  this  Dandelion  is  named,  and  common  as 
it  is  in  all  the  mountain  regions,  yet  it.  is  far  from  being 
an  ugly  or  even  an  uninteresting  plant.  On  the  contrary, 
its  gorgeous  golden  blossoms  render  it  extremely  attractive. 
These  blossoms  consist  of  from  one  to  two  hundred  strap- 
shaped  rays,  their  blunt  tips  notched  into  five  teeth,  which 
remind  us  that  each  ray-flower  was  once  composed  of  five 
petals.  The  leaves  are  boldly  cut  into  jagged  lobes  (sup- 
posed to  resemble  the  teeth  of  a  lion,  hence  the  common 


306  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

name  Dandelion,  derived  from  the  French  Dent-de-lion) ,  and 
these  lobes  are  again  cut  into  secondary  points. 

As  the  Dandelion  grows  old  the  rays  fall  off,  and  it  bends 
downwards  until  the  seed  matures ;  then,  elevating  its  head 
once  more,  it  expands  into  a  beautiful,  snow-white,  airy  seed- 
ball,  whose  plumes  blow  away  at  the  slightest  puff  and  float 
off  to  find  a  new  resting-place. 

T.  rupestre,  or  Alpine  Dandelion,  is  a  tiny  slender  plant 
with  finely  cut  leaves  and  small  flowers,  which  seldom  grows 
more  than  four  or  five  inches  high.  From  the  lowlands  to 
the  highest  levels  this 

"  Dear  common  flower  that  grows  beside  the  way, 
Fringing  the  dusty  road  with  harmless  gold," 

is  to  be  found. 

SOW  THISTLE 

Sonchus  arvensis.    Composite  Family 

Perennial  by  deep  roots  and  creeping  rootstocks.  Stems  :  leafy  below, 
paniculately  branched  and  nearly  naked  above.  Leaves :  lower  and  basal 
runcinate-pinnatifid,  spinulose-dentate.  Flowers:  heads  several,  corym- 
bose-paniculate, bright  yellow,  very  showy.  Fruit :  achenes  oblong,  com- 
pressed, with  about  ten  rugose  longitudinal  ribs.  Not  indigenous. 

Every  traveller  will  easily  recognize  this  common  Sow 
Thistle,  with  its  yellow  or  yellowish  flowers  and  its  very 
prickly  leaves.  Sometimes  it  is  called  Milk  Thistle,  on 
account  of  the  milky  juices  contained  in  the  stems.  Like 
many  of  the  members  of  the  great  family  of  Composites,  the 
Sow  Thistle  has  an  involucre  of  green  bracts,  a  flat  naked 
receptacle,  and  numerous  strap-shaped  rays,  which  are  trun- 
cate and  finely  toothed.  It  is  a  coarse  showy  weed,  and  opens 
its  flowers  early  in  the  day,  closing  them  again  soon  after 
noon. 


PLATE  LXXXIV 


HAIRY  HAWKWEED 

(Hieracium  Scouleri) 

3°7 


THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  309 

NARROW-LEAVED  PUCCOON 

Lithospermum  angustifolium.    Borage  Family 

Stems:  branched,  erect  or  ascending.  Leaves:  linear,  sessile,  acute. 
Flowers:  of  two  kinds,  in  terminal  leafy  racemes;  corolla  of  the  earlier 
ones  salver-form,  bright  yellow,  five-lobed,  the  lobes  erose-denticulate, 
the  throat  crested  ;  later  flowers  much  smaller  and  pale  yellow,  cleistog- 
amous,  abundantly  fertile,  their  pedicels  recurved  in  fruit.  Fruit:  nutlets 
white,  smooth,  shining,  ovoid,  more  or  less  pitted,  keeled  on  the  inner  side. 

The  French  call  this  Puccoon  Plante  aux  Perles,  because  of 
the  hard  stony  seeds  that  mature  in  the  calyx,  and  which, 
though  at  first  soft  and  green,  gradually  become  hard,  white, 
and  shining.  It  is  on  account  of  these  nutlets  that  the  plant 
is  named  from  the  Greek  lithos,  "  a  stone,"  and  sperm,  "a  seed." 
The  flowers  are  a  pretty  lemon  colour,  the  earlier  ones  being 
of  a  much  deeper  shade  and  larger  in  size  than  those  which 
appear  later  in  the  summer.  They  grow  in  close  leafy  clusters, 
and  have  a  long,  salver-form,  five -cleft  corolla.  The  stems  and 
leaves  are  quite  downy.  This  Puccoon  grows  in  small  tufts  or 
mats,  from  six  to  ten  inches  high,  and  is  usually  found  on  the 
dry  open  lands,  where  its 

"Leaves  and  branches,  crossed  and  linked, 
Cling  like  children  and  embrace." 

YELLOW  BEARD-TONGUE 

Penstemon  confertus.    Figwort  Family 

Stems :  slender.  Leaves :  lower  ones  lanceolate,  attenuate  below  to 
narrow  petioles,  mostly  entire,  the  cauline  sessile  by  a  broad  base. 
Flowers :  thyrsus  spiciform,  interrupted,  dense,  many-flowered  clusters ; 
corolla  very  narrow,  lower  lip  conspicuously  bearded  within. 

The  Yellow  Beard-tongue  grows  high  up  on  the  mountains. 
The  flowers,  which  vary  in  hue  from  yellow  to  cream  colour, 
are  set  in  several  dense  clusters  round  about  the  stem,  encir- 
cling it  at  intervals.  For  further  information  regarding  the 
Penstemons  see  page  243  in  the  Blue  to  Purple  Section, 


3io 


YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 


YELLOW  MONKEY-FLOWER 

Mimulus  Langsdorfii.    Figwort  Family 

Stems:  erect.  Leaves:  ovate,  sessile,  denticulate.  Flowers:  terminal; 
calyx  ventricose-campanulate;  corolla-tube  cylindric,  its  limb  bilabiate, 
the  upper  lip  erect,  two-lobed,  the  lower  lip  spreading,  three-lobed. 

A  small  plant  bearing  abnormally  large  quaint  flowers, 
bright  yellow  in  colour  and  usually  spotted  with  brownish- 
red  inside  the  corolla.  The  lower  three-cleft  lip  is  heavily 
bearded  within  by  soft  fine  hairs,  and  so  tiny  are  the  little 
roundish  leaves,  and  so  slim  the  short  stems,  that  the  big 
bright  blossoms  appear  rather  top-heavy  for  so  small  a  plant. 
Not  actually  growing  in  the  water,  but  rather  on  those  low 
marshy  islands  so  frequently  set  in  the  middle  of  the  alpine 
streams,  you  will  find  myriads  of  these  Yellow  Monkey-flowers 
nestling  amid  the  mosses  and  reeds  which  spring  up  so  luxu- 
riantly between  the  stones  by  the  river's  brink. 

YELLOW  ORTHOCARPUS 

Orthocarpus  luteus.    Figwort  Family 

Stems :  strict,  erect,  branched  above,  densely  leafy.  Leaves  :  ascending, 
linear,  entire  or  sometimes  three-cleft,  sessile,  long-acuminate;  bracts  of 
the  dense  spike  lanceolate.  Flowers :  in  dense  spikes,  yellow  ;  calyx 
tubular,  with  acute  teeth;  corolla-tube  slender,  the  limb  two-lipped,  the 
upper  lip  ovate,  obtuse,  the  lower  lip  saccate,  three-toothed. 

An  uninteresting  member  of  the  numerous  Figwort  Family. 
It  has  very  dense,  slender,  erect  spikes,  covered  with  tiny 
leaves  and  bracts  and  numerous  bright  yellow  flowers.  These 
flowers  have  a  single  upper  lip  and  a  three-toothed  lower  lip. 
The  Yellow  Orthocarpus  usually  grows  in  dry  soil. 


PLATE  LXXXV 


SMALL  HAWKWEED 

{Hieracium  gracile] 

3" 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  313 

YELLOW  RATTLE 

Rhinanthus  Crista-galli.    Figwort  Family 

Stems :  slender.  Leaves :  lanceolate,  sessile,  coarsely  serrate-dentate, 
acute  ;  bracts  ovate,  incised-dentate,  the  teeth  acuminate.  Flowers :  in 
terminal,  one-sided,  leafy-bracted  spikes,  and  solitary  in  the  upper  axils; 
calyx  much  inflated,  conspicuously  veiny  in  fruit  ;  corolla  very  irregu- 
lar, two-lipped ;  the  galea  compressed,  arched,  minutely  two-toothed 
below  the  entire  apex,  the  lower  lip  three-lobed,  spreading. 

The  name  Yellow  Rattle  has  been  given  to  this  plant  on 
account  of  the  way  in  which  the  ripened  seeds,  which  lie  loose 
in  the  capsules,  rattle  whenever  the  wind  shakes  them  to  and 
fro.  It  is  a  firm  erect  plant,  usually  growing  from  six  to  ten 
inches  high,  and  chiefly  conspicuous  by  reason  of  its  inflated 
green  flower-cups  and  bright  yellow  blossoms,  the  lips  of 
which  frequently  are  spotted  with  purple. 

LARGE  YELLOW  LADY'S  SLIPPER 

Cypripedium  pubescens.    Orchid  Family 

Stems :  leafy.  Leaves :  oval  or  elliptic,  acute.  Flowers :  sepals  ovate- 
lanceolate,  longer  than  the  lip,  yellowish-green  striped  with  purple ; 
petals  very  narrow  and  twisted,  lip  much  inflated,  bright  yellow  with 
greenish-purple  lines,  a  tuft  of  white  jointed  hairs  at  the  top  of  the 
interior  ;  stamen  sterile,  triangular  ;  stigma  thick,  incurved. 

In  the  dry  sun-warmed  forests,  where  the  birds  trill  their 
sweet  antiphons  and  the  smooth  surface  of  the  pools  reflects 
with  steadfast  truth  the  cone-laden  branches  of  fir  and  pine 
and  the  fleecy  clouds  that  float  across  the  azure  sky,  —  there, 
unafraid,  rejoicing  in  its  weird,  almost  unearthly  beauty,  the 
Large  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper  flaunts  its  gaudy  flowers. 

At  the  first  sight  of  these  exquisite  orchids,  which  also 
grow  on  the  open  arid  moraines  close  to  the  immense  gla- 
ciers, you  catch  your  breath,  and  a  thrill  runs  through  all 
your  veins;  there  they  stand,  golden-bright,  surrounded  by  a 
halo  of  romance  and  mystery. 


3H 


YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 


There  is  little  need  to  describe  this  Cypripedium,  for  its 
showy  inflated  sac,  flanked  by  long  spiral  petals  and  purplish- 
green  sepals,  distinguishes  it  at  once,  even  to  the  unpractised 
eye.  The  leaves  of  the  Large  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper  grow 
alternately  on  the  slender  hairy  stems,  and  are  large,  long- 
shaped,  pointed,  many-nerved,  and  plaited.  The  name  Cypri- 
pedium  is  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  means  Venus 's  sock 
or  buskin. 

C.  parviflorum,  or  Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper,  much 
resembles  the  preceding  species,  but  may  be  easily  distin- 
guished by  means  of  its  smaller  flowers,  the  inflated  sacs  of 
which  are  of  a  much  deeper,  richer  shade  of  yellow,  and  are 
often  marked  with  reddish-purple  spots  and  lines,  and  also  by 
its  wider  oval-shaped  leaves  and  thicker  stems. 

In  July,  that  exquisite  month  which  lies  within  the  very 
heart  of  summer,  should  you  wander  amid  the  mountains  when 
dawn  trumpets  forth  the  glittering  rise  of  day,  then  pause 
beside  some  sluggish  alpine  stream,  which  lonely  lies  coiled 
in  sleepy  curves,  for  there,  far  removed  from  the  haunts  of 
men,  you  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  find  the  fragrant  little 
Cypripedium  parviflorum. 

Unlike  the  Large  species,  this  Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper 
always  seeks  the  seclusion  of  the  hazy  hollows  and  the  moist 
misty  woods.  Rightly  have  these  lovely  sweet-scented  flowers 
been  proclaimed 

v    "  Golden  slippers  meet  for  fairies'  feet." 

PHILADELPHIA  LILY 

Lilium  Philadelphiciim.    Lily  Family 

Bulb  composed  of  narrow,  jointed,  fleshy  scales.  Stems :  tall,  leafy. 
Leaves:  lanceolate,  acute  at  both  ends,  all  verticillate,  the  margins 
finely  roughened.  Flowers :  erect ;  perianth  reddish-orange,  of  six  spread- 
ing segments,  each  one  gradually  narrowed  into  a  claw,  purple-spotted 
below. 


PLATE  LXXXVI 


LARGE  YELLOW  LADY'S  SLIPPER 
( Cypripedium  pubescens) 


3'5 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  317 

Lilies  grow  in  many  climes  and  are  of  divers  hues.  White 
and  yellow,  orange  and  red,  tall  and  stately,  they  flourish  con- 
spicuously in  the  valleys  and  on  the  mountain  tops,  beneath 
blazing  tropical  suns  and  close  beside  the  eternal  snows. 

The  Philadelphia  Lily  is  one  of  the  handsomest  of  the 
alpine  flowers,  and  early  in  July  its  red-tinted  tawny  bells  render 
the  woods  attractively  gay.  As  if  conscious  of  their  glory,  the 
large  bright  blossoms  grow  erect  on  tall  stems,  round  which 
circling  clusters  of  dark  green  narrow-pointed  leaves  are  set 
at  intervals  ;  the  outer  surface  of  the  segments  is  pale  orange, 
while  the  open  bells  are  of  a  vivid  reddish  hue  within,  and 
spotted  with  purplish-brown.  Large  anthers  crown  the  six 
long  stamens,  and  the  stigma  is  three-lobed. 

This  Lily  does  not  fear  the  drought  of  long  summer  days, 
but  grows  in  stately  splendour  in  the  driest  thickets.  It  has 
assumed  a  gorgeous  garb  of  flaming  orange  in  order  to  attract ' 
those  insects  that  pollenize  its  flowers;  for  while  the  brilliant 
colour  quickly  attracts  the  bees,  the  purplish  spots  and  lines 
unerringly  point  out  to  them  the  most  direct  route  to  their 
desired  goal,  namely,  those  nectar  grooves  which  lie  at  the 
base  of  each  segment. 

Truly  was  it  said  that  "  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these  ";  for  the  wild  orange-red  Phila- 
delphia Lilies  shine  with  a  beauty  unequalled  in  the  alpine 
forests. 

WESTERN  LILY 

Lilium  Columbianum.    Lily  Family 

Bulb,  with  lanceolate,  acute,  closely  appressed  scales.  Stems  :  slender. 
Leaves :  in  whorls,  scattered  above  and  below,  narrowly  lanceolate, 
sharply  acuminate,  thin,  glabrous.  Flowers:  racemose,  or  in  whorls  on 
stout  pedicels,  six  segments  of  the  perianth  revolute. 

This  Western  Lily  somewhat  resembles  the  Turk's-cap  Lily, 
for  its  head  is  drooped  and  its  floral  leaves  are  revolute,  or 


3lS  YELLOW  TO  ORANGE 

rolled  backwards,  being  bright  orange  in  colour  and  thickly 
spotted  with  purple  on  the  inside.  It  has  six  very  long  sta- 
mens, which  terminate  in  large,  oblong,  yellow  anthers  ;  the 
segments  of  the  perianth  are  not  clawed,  as  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Lily,  but  are  joined  together  at  the  base,  forming  a 
perfect  bell. 

As  in  all  the  species  of  Liltum,  the  bulb  consists  of  a  large 
number  of  overlapping  scales,  which  are  merely  thickened, 
undeveloped  leaves,  serving  as  storehouses  for  the  starchy 
wealth  of  the  plant.  Any  one  of  these  scales,  if  separated 
from  the  mass,  will  develop  into  a  tiny  bulb. 

Very  radiant  are  these  clustered  Western  Lilies,  which 
burn  like  torches  in  the  green  alpine  meadows  at 

"  The  time  when  lilies  blow, 
And  clouds  are  highest  in  the  air." 

YELLOW  ADDER'S  TONGUE 
Erythroniutn  giganteum.    Lily  Family 

Stems :  scape  stout.  Leaves :  broadly  lanceolate,  acute,  pale  green. 
Flowers :  one  to  several  in  a  terminal  raceme ;  perianth  broadly  funnel- 
form,  of  six  distinct  segments  :  outer  ones  lanceolate,  obtuse  ;  inner  ones 
narrower,  acuminate,  with  four  stout  hyaline  teeth  at  base,  all  strongly 
revolute. 

A.  lovely  yellow  flower,  frequently  called  "  Snow  Lily," 
from  the  fact  that  it  grows  in  such  close  proximity  to  the 
great  alpine  neves.  "Dog-tooth  Violet"  is  yet  another  name 
for  this  plant,  and  refers  more  particularly  to  the  white  bulb, 
which  is  supposed  to  resemble  the  canine  teeth  of  a  dog. 

Adder's  Tongue  probably  refers  to  the  pointed  anthers, 
which  are  six  in  number  and  extremely  conspicuous  ;  but 
"  Snow  Lily"  is  by  far  the  more  appropriate  designation  for 
a  blossom  which  appears  at  the  edge  of  the  avalanches  and 
follows  the  retreating  line  of  the  snow  when  the  warm  spring 
sunshine  melts  the  great  white  masses  in  the  valleys  and 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  319 

sets  the  flowers  free.  At  high  altitudes  you  will  often  see 
numbers  of  pale  green  pointed  leaves  forcing  their  way  up 
through  the  soft  covering,  and  myriads  of  bright  yellow  blos- 
soms rising  but  a  few  inches  above  the  thin  carpet  of  frozen 
crystals.  From  between  two  or  three  of  these  large  leaves 
(somewhat  like  those  of  the  Lily-of-the-Valley)  springs  the 
slender  stalk,  which  terminates  in  a  single  bud,  or  occasion- 
ally in  a  small  raceme  of  drooping  golden  bells.  Soon  the 
six  pointed  segments  of  the  perianth  unfold  and  expand, 
gradually  rolling  backwards  until  they  become  completely 
recurved,  leaving  the  whole  length  of  the  stamens  exposed. 
These  segments,  or  floral  leaves,  are  an  exquisite  shade  of 
yellow,  softening  to  cream  colour  at  the  base  in  the  centre. 
The  style  bears  at  its  summit  a  deeply  three-cleft  stigma, 
each  division  thereof  being  also  recurved. 

Great  colonies  of  Yellow  Adder's  Tongues  grow  in  the 
mountains,  where  their  faint  fragrance  scents  the  air  with  a 
delicious  perfume.  Late  at  evening,  when  beneath  the  star- 
sown  purple  of  the  sky  you  return  from  making  some  alpine 
ascent,  the  pure  flames  of  these  wild  Lilies  gleam  in  their 
leafy  setting  with  a  pale  golden  light,  and  illuminate  the  green 
brink  of  your  path  ;  and  when  the  noonday  is  glorified,  and 
the  flag  of  the  sun  floats  top-masted  in  the  skies,  then 

"  You  see  gems  in  yellow 
Nodding,  each  one,  to  his  fellow, 
Strewing  all  the  country  lanes 
With  divinely  builded  fanes, 
Where  the  benisons  are  breathed  but  never  spoken." 


MOUNTAIN  WILD  FLOWERS 
OF  AMERICA 

SECTION  V 
FLOWERING  SHRUBS 


'- 


SECTION  V 
FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

RED  BANEBERRY 

Actcea  spicata  var.  arguta.    Crowfoot  Family 

Stems :  one  to  six  feet  high  from  a  fascicle  of  short  branching  roots. 
Leaves:  ternate,  the  divisions  pinnate,  with  the  lower  ultimate  leaflets 
sometimes  again  compound,  ovate,  sometimes  obscurely  three-lobed, 
toothed.  Flowers :  in  oblong  terminal  racemes,  sometimes  divided  towards 
the  base,  loose;  petals  oblong,  obtuse.  Fruit:  berries  red,  oval,  many- 
seeded. 

The  Red  Baneberry  is  a  perennial  herb,  not  a  shrub  ;  but 
since  it  grows  to  the  height  of  six  feet,  and  is  a  very  large 
bushy  plant,  it  has  been  placed  in  this  Section  for  greater 
convenience.  The  foliage  is  abundant  and  coarsely  veined, 
and  the  tiny  flowers,  which  grow  in  oblong,  close-set,  terminal 
racemes,  are  feathery  and  delicate  in  appearance.  This  plant 
usually  flourishes  in  the  dense  forest  glades,  where  the  dainty 
white  blossoms  and  clusters  of  bright  red  berries  adorning 
its  slender  stalks  render  it  both  attractive  and  conspicuous. 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  GRAPE 

Herberts  repens.    Barberry  Family 

A  low  glabrous  shrub.  Leaves :  petioled,  pinnate,  the  leaflets  three  to 
seven,  ovate,  obtuse,  truncate  at  the  base,  sessile,  thick,  finely  reticulated, 
dentate  with  spine-bearing  teeth.  Flowers :  in  short  racemes,  the  clusters 
terminal  and  axillary,  many-flowered,  yellow.  Fruit :  a  globose  dark  blue 
berry. 

323 


324  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

This  shrub,  which  is  exceedingly  ornamental,  has  yellow 
wood  and  bright  green  foliage,  which  turns  to  a  lovely  reddish 
colour  in  the  autumn.  The  tiny  vivid  yellow  flowers  grow  in 
short  thick  clusters  ;  they  have  six  bracted  sepals,  with  six 
petals  opposite  them,  also  six  stamens. 


CHOKE  CHERRY 

Prunus  Virginiana.    Rose  Family 

A  shrub  two  to  ten  feet  high,  or  very  rarely  a  small  tree,  with  gray 
bark.  Leaves:  thin,  obovate,  abruptly  acute,  rounded  at  the  base, 
sharply  serrulate  with  slender  teeth.  Flowers:  white,  in  erect  or  spread- 
ing, mainly  loosely-flowered  racemes  terminating  the  leafy  branches  of 
the  season  ;  calyx  five-cleft ;  corolla  of  five  suborbicular  spreading 
petals.  Fruit :  a  dark  red  drupe,  globose,  very  astringent,  stone  globular. 

This  tall  shrub,  or  tree,  bears  abundant  white  blossoms, 
which  grow  in  long  graceful  racemes  amid  the  dark  green 
leaves.  These  leaves  are  broadly  oval  in  outline  and  finely 
edged  with  numerous  tiny  sharp  teeth.  It  is  in  this  latter 
characteristic  that  the  Primus  differs  materially  from  Ame- 
lanchier  dinifolia,  or  Service-berry,  with  which  it  is  some- 
times confused.  The  Service-berry  has  smaller  roundish 
leaves,  edged  above  the  middle  with  marked  teeth,  and  its 
blossoms  are  larger  and  fewer  in  number. 

The  Choke  Cherry  grows  from  1000  to  3000  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  the  profusion  of  its  snowy  sweet-scented  flower- 
clusters,  which  are  followed  in  due  course  by  the  dark  red 
semi-transparent  fruit,  renders  it  a  great  ornament  to  the 
alpine  mountain  sides.  This  fruit  is  edible,  but  very  astrin- 
gent, and  contains  a  tiny  round  stone. 


PLATE  LXXXVII 


RED  BANEBERRY 

(Act<za  spicata  var.  arguta) 


325 


PLATE  LXXXVIII 
WTF 


GOAT'S  BEARD 

{Spinca  Aruncus} 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  329 

GOAT'S   BEARD 

Spircea  Aruncus.    Rose  Family 

Stems :  erect,  bracted.  Leaves :  long-petioled,  pinnate,  three-to-seven 
foliolate  ;  leaflets  ovate,  lanceolate,  thin,  acute  at  the  apex,  rounded  at 
the  base,  sharply  doubly  serrate.  Flowers:  in  long,  slender,  panicled 
spikes,  erect  or  spreading. 

This  is  another  tall,  shrub-like,  perennial  herb,  placed  in  this 
Section  for  greater  convenience.  It  is  quite  unmistakable,  as 
it  grows  from  three  to  ten  feet  high  in  the  rich  soil  of  the  wet 
valleys,  and  bears  numerous  long  showy  plumes  of  closely 
clustered,  minute,  creamy  flowers  rising  above  its  masses  of 
luxuriant  strongly  veined  foliage.  Thus  the  Goat's  Beard  is 
both  decorative  and  conspicuous.  The  tiny  flowers  are  formed 
of  a  five-lobed  calyx  and  five  petals,  and  the  seeds  are  very 
small  and  shining. 

SALMON-BERRY 

Rubus  Nutkanus.    Rose  Family 

Erect,  branched,  very  slightly  bristly.  Leaves :  petioled,  simple,  cordate 
at  the  base,  three-to-five  lobed,  the  lobes  acute,  the  middle  one  slightly 
longer  than  the  others,  all  coarsely  and  unequally  serrate.  Flowers :  white, 
few,  corymbose,  terminal  ;  calyx-lobes  tipped  with  a  long  slender  appen- 
dage. Fruit :  depressed-hemispheric,  edible,  red  when  ripe. 

The  five  snow-white  crinkled  petals  of  the  Salmon-berry 
look  very  frail  and  pretty  when  seen  amid  the  dense  coarse 
foliage  of  this  large  bushy  shrub.  The  flower  is  formed  like 
a  miniature  white  rose,  and  has  numerous  tiny  stamens  set 
around  the  convex  receptacle  in  which  are  inserted  the  carpels 
that  ultimately  ripen  into  drupelets  and  form  an  aggregate 
red  fruit. 

The  Salmon-berry  grows  abundantly  in  the 

"  High-wooded  hollows,  where  serenely  rest 
The  lazy  clouds,  like  giants  in  repose." 


330  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

SHRUBBY  CINQUEFOIL 

Potentilla  fruticosa.     Rose  Family 

Stems :  erect  or  ascending,  much  branched,  very  leafy,  the  bark 
shreddy.  Leaves  :  pinnate  ;  leaflets  five  to  seven,  oblong,  acute  at  each 
end,  silky-pubescent,  the  margins  revolute.  Flowers  :  terminal,  densely 
cymose  or  solitary,  bright  yellow ;  petals  five,  nearly  orbicular  in  out- 
line, exceeding  the  five  ovate  calyx-lobes  and  five  bractlets. 

In  July  and  August  the  dry  sunny  alpine  meadows  are 
rendered  gay  by  these  lovely  bright  yellow  Cinquefoils,  which 
resemble  large  buttercups  and  grow  on  low  bushy  shrubs, 
amid  much  silvery  foliage,  composed  of  tiny  compound  leaves 
covered  with  a  soft  silky  down.  The  bark  on  the  slender 
stems  is  extremely  shreddy. 

PRICKLY  ROSE 

Rosa  aciczilaris.    Rose  Family 

Stems:  densely  prickly.  Leaves:  pinnate;  leaflets  large,  five  to  seven, 
oval-lanceolate,  coarsely  toothed.  Flowers :  solitary ;  petals  pink,  broadly 
obovate;  sepals  entire,  acuminate,  persistent  and  erect  upon  the  fruit. 
Fruit :  globose,  glabrous. 

The  bush  on  which  this  Rose  grows  is  about  three  feet 
high  and  bears  lovely,  fragrant,  pale  pink  flowers.  The  leaves 
are  large  and  very  dark  green,  and  the  stems  are  covered 
with  many  tiny,  fine,  straight  prickles.  All  the  wild  Roses 
display  a  preference  for  the  number  five,  having  five  petals 
and  five  sepals. 

No  flower  in  the  world  has  been  so  famous  in  poetry  and 
song  as  the  Rose.-  Its  beauty  and  fragrance  have  won  for  it 
an  honoured  place  in  the  annals  of  history,  in  classic  lore, 
and  in  the  glowing  pages  of  romance. 

"  Was  ever  blossom  lovelier  than  the  rose?  " 
Surely  not.    Nor  can  we  agree  with  Juliet  when  she  says  : 

"  That  which  we  call  a  rose 
By  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet." 


PLATE  LXXXIX 


SALMON-BERRY 
(Rubus  Ntttkanus) 


PLATE  XC 


PRICKLY  ROSE 
{Rosa  acicularis) 

333 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  335 

For  to  us  the  Rose  symbolizes  those  things  which  are  tender 
and  exquisite  in  life,  and  the  sweet  wild  dweller  in  the  forest 
is  the  fairest  flower  of  them  all. 

"  If  June  were  mine,  I  'd  weave  for  you  — 
Of  roses  red  and  skies  of  blue, 

Of  golden  sun  and  orchard  sheen, 

Of  blossom-fretted  damascene  — 
A  veil  of  every  petal-hue. 

"  And  from  the  morning  mists  of  dew 
Distil  a  fairy  stream,  that  through 
The  woods  should  wend  a  way  serene, 
If  June  were  mine. 

"  And,  ere  the  purple  dusk  anew 
The  curtains  of  the  sunset  drew, 
Adown  the  river's  dream  demesne, 
I  'd  paint  a  path  incarnadine, 
And  drift  into  the  dawn  with  you, 
If  June  were  mine." 

R.  Macounii,  or  Macoun's  Rose,  is  another  species  which 
grows  among  the  mountains.  Note  that  it  has  small  leaves, 
and  that  on  its  stems  grow  a  few  large,  widely  separated, 
hooked  thorns.  Otherwise  it  resembles  R.  acicularis,  and  the 
flowers  of  the  two  bushes  are  almost  identically  alike.  When 

"  The  last  rose  of  summer, 
Left  blooming  alone," 

hangs  on  the  bush  surrounded  by  the  fallen  petals  of  her 
companions,  then 

"  Scarlet  berries  tell  where  bloomed  the  sweet  wild  rose," 

and  Nature  spreads  a  feast  of  ripe  red  fruit  for  the  birds  of 
the  air. 


336  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

I  cannot  refrain  from  closing  this  brief  mention  of  the  Rose 
with  a  quotation  from  a  poem  by  Isabella  Valancy  Crawford, 
the  sweetest  singer  of  songs  Canada  ever  knew : 

"  The  rose  was  given  to  Man  for  this  : 
He,  sudden  seeing  it  in  later  years, 
Should  swift  remember  Love's  first  lingering  kiss, 
And  Grief's  last  lingering  tears. 

"  Or,  being  blind,  should  feel  its  yearning  soul 

Knit  all  its  piercing  perfume  round  his  own, 
Till  he  should  see  on  Memory's  ample  scroll 
All  roses  he  had  known." 


WESTERN   MOUNTAIN  ASH 

Pyrus  sambucifolia.    Rose  Family 

Leaves :  alternate,  pinnate  ;  leaflets  seven  to  fifteen,  lanceolate,  short- 
pointed  at  the  apex,  sharply  serrate,  glabrous  and  dark  green  above,  pale 
and  more  or  less  pubescent  beneath.  Flowers  :  white,  in  terminal  com- 
pound cymes ;  calyx-tube  urn-shaped,  five-lobed,  not  bracteolate ;  petals 
five,  spreading,  short-clawed.  Fruit :  a  small,  red,  berry-like  pome,  bitter. 

This  is  the  Rowan  Tree  of  the  mountain  regions,  and  a  very 
handsome  shrub  or  tree  it  is,  sometimes  attaining  a  height 
of  twenty  feet,  but  usually  growing  only  from  six  to  fifteen 
feet  high. 

The  leaves  are  dark  green  on  the  top  and  a  much  paler  hue 
beneath.  The  flower-buds  are  a  delicate  shade  of  creamy  pink, 
and  turn  white  when  they  expand  in  the  sunshine,  the  wide- 
open  blossoms  having  a  darkened  appearance  in  their  centres, 
caused  by  the  numerous  stamens.  This  shrub  is  found  at 
great  altitudes,  growing  close  to  the  edge  of  perpetual  snow 
and  bearing  quantities  of  splendid  foliage  and  huge  clustered 
cymes  of  soft-tinted  flowers,  which  diffuse  an  extremely 
pungent  odour. 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  337 

The  Rowan  Tree  is  famed  in  verse  and  legend,  but  surely 
no  tenderer  poem  was  ever  penned  in  its  honour  than  the 
old  immortal  song  : 

"  O  Rowan  tree  !  O  Rowan  tree  !  thou  'It  aye  be  dear  to  me  ; 
Entwined  thou  art  wi'  mony  ties  o'  hame  and  infancy. 
Thy  leaves  were  aye  the  first  o'  spring,  thy  flowers  the  simmer's  pride; 
There  was  nae  sic  a  bonnie  tree  in  a'  the  countrie  side, 

O  Rowan  tree  ! 

"  How  fair  wert  thou  in  simmer  time,  wi'  a'  thy  clusters  white ! 
How  rich  and  gay  thy  autumn  dress,  wi'  berries  red  and  bright  ! 
We  sat  aneath  thy  spreading  shade  ;  the  bairnies  round  thee  ran  ; 
They  pu'd  thy  bonnie  berries  red,  and  necklaces  they  strang, 

O  Rowan  tree  !  " 


SERVICE-BERRY 

Amelanchier alnifolia.    Rose  Family 

A  shrub  three  to  six  feet  high,  more  or  less  tomentose-pubescent  when 
young,  at  length  glabrate  throughout  and  somewhat  glaucous.  Leaves  : 
thick,  broadly  elliptic  or  orbicular,  very  obtuse,  and  often  truncate  at  the 
apex,  rounded  or  subcordate  at  the  base,  coarsely  dentate  above  the  mid- 
dle. Flowers  :  white,  in  short  racemes,  rather  dense  ;  petals  five,  oblan- 
ceolate,  cuneate.  Fruit :  a  globose  pome,  purple  with  a  bloom,  sweet. 

This  is  the  low  pearly-flowered  shrub  which  grows  on  the 
sandy  banks  and  flats,  and  which  the  Indians  call  Saskatoon, 
for  its  sweet  purple  berries  form  a  staple  article  of  food  with 
them  during  the  months  of  July  and  August.  It  somewhat 
resembles  the  Choke  Cherry,  but  its  greenish-white  blossoms 
are  larger  and  have  long  narrow  petals  ;  also  its  leaves  are 
oval,  with  flattened  ends,  and  are  very  coarsely  toothed  above 
the  middle,  whereas  those  of  the  Choke  Cherry  are  oblong, 
pointed,  and  finely  toothed  all  round  the  edges.  The  bark  of 
the  little  branches  of  the  Service-berry  is  reddish,  and  the 
young  leaves  are  quite  pale  and  downy  underneath. 


338  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

BRISTLY  GOOSEBERRY 

Ribes  setosum.    Saxifrage  Family 

Stems  :  with  infra-axillary  spines,  slender,  spreading,  sometimes  none  ; 
bristles  usually  numerous,  scattered.  Leaves:  slender-petioled,  broadly 
ovate  in  outline,  five-lobed,  the  lobes  incised-dentate.  Flowers  :  greenish- 
white  ;  calyx-tube  cylindric,  longer  than  the  oblong  lobes  ;  stamens  not 
exserted.  Fruit :  a  globose  purple  berry,  pulpy,  the  calyx  persistent  on 
its  summit,  sparingly  bristly  or  often  glabrous. 

The  bush  on  which  this  Bristly  Gooseberry  grows  is  found 
in  the  shady  woods,  and  attains  an  average  height  of  three 
feet.  The  flowers  are  greenish-white  and  very  insignificant, 
and  the  fruit  consists  of  a  small  purple  pulpy  berry,  which  is 
sweet  to  the  taste. 

RED  CURRANT 

Ribes  rubrum.    Saxifrage  Family 

Unarmed.  Leaves :  pubescent  beneath,  orbicular,  three-to-five  lobed, 
cordate  at  the  base,  the  lobes  obtuse,  sharply  dentate.  Flowers :  in 
greenish  to  purplish  racemes,  pendulous,  loosely  flowered;  calyx  flat, 
campanulate  ;  stamens  short.  Fruit :  red,  glabrous. 

This  is  the  wild  counterpart  of  our  cultivated  Garden  Cur- 
rant. In  the  shadowy  depths  of  the  mountain  forests  the 
pendent  tassels  of  tiny  greenish  or  purplish  flowers  are  seldom 
noticed,  and  the  small  red  fruit  is  not  at  all  palatable,  being 
extremely  acid  and  possessing  a  woody  flavour. 


DEVIL'S  CLUB 

Fatsia  horrida.    Ginseng  Family 

Stems :  stout,  two  to  twelve  feet  high,  decumbent  at  the  base,  leafy  at 
the  summit,  very  prickly  throughout.  Leaves  :  palmately  lobed.  Flowers  : 
the  greenish-white  capitate  umbels  in  a  long  dense  raceme ;  calyx-teeth 
obsolete  ;  petals  five,  valvate  in  the  bud  ;  stamens  five,  alternate  with  the 
petals  ;  filaments  filiform.  Fruit:  drupaceous. 


PLATE  XCI 


WESTERN  MOUNTAIN  ASH 
(Pyrus  sambucifolid} 

339 


PLATE  XCII 


SERVICE-BERRY 

(Amelanchier  alnifolid] 

341 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  343 

A  tall  shrub  consisting  of  a  single  stout  stem  covered  with 
long  sharp  spines,  which  are  extremely  poisonous.  It  usually 
grows  about  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  has  huge  palm-like 
leaves,  which  are  also  prickly.  The  flowers  grow  in  a  dense 
cluster  at  the  top  of  the  stem,  and  in  time  turn  into  bright 
red  berries. 

This  plant  should  be  carefully  avoided  in  the  forests.  It 
has  been  rightly  named  "  Devil's  Club,"  since  no  human 
being  may  touch  it  with  impunity. 

RED-STEMMED  DOGWOOD 

Cornus  stolonifera.    Dogwood  Family 

Stems :  red.  Leaves :  slender-petioled,  ovate,  acuminate  at  the  apex, 
rounded  at  the  base,  entire.  Flowers:  in  cymes,  flat-topped;  petals  white. 
Fruit :  globose,  blue. 

A  handsome  shrub,  with  bright  red  stems  and  numerous 
flat-topped  clusters  of  pretty  little  greenish-white  flowers, 
which  have  a  very  fragrant  odour.  The  Western  Indians  call 
it  Kinnikinnic,  and  dry  and  use  the  inner  bark  in  place  of 
tobacco ;  while  the  half-breeds  of  the  plains  call  it  Harouge, 
signifying  "a  red  switch." 

RED-BERRIED  ELDER 

Sambucus  racemosa.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Stems  :  woody.  Leaves  :  pinnately  compound  ;  leaflets  lanceolate,  acu- 
minate at  the  apex,  sharply  serrate.  Flowers :  in  thyrsoid  cymes,  white 
to  yellowish.  Fruit :  small,  scarlet. 

This  shrub,  which  grows  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  high  and 
has  spreading  branches  and  ample  foliage,  is  widely  distributed 
over  the  continent.  In  fields  and  forests,  by  the  roadsides 
and  in  neglected  gardens,  you  will  find  it  springing  up  and 
thriving  with  undaunted  hardihood  amid  the  most  barren  sur- 
roundings. It  also  grows  at  many  elevations,  being  seen  in 


344  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

quantities  at  the  sea  level  and  also  flourishing  abundantly  at 
an  altitude  of  6000  and  7000  feet.  The  leaves  are  divided 
into  from  five  to  seven  leaflets,  and  the  creamy  fragrant  flowers 
grow  in  elongated  clusters  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  The 
fruit  is  a  bright  scarlet  drupe,  with  a  pungent  acid  flavour. 
5.  melanocarpa,  or  Black-berried  Elder,  does  not  grow  quite 
so  luxuriantly  as  the  preceding  species,  yet  its  sweet-scented 
misty  clusters  adorn  many  a  patch  and  thicket.  The  fruit,  as 
the  name  denotes,  is  a  rich  blue-black  colour  and  very  juicy. 
It  is  from  this  shrub  that  Elderberry  wine  is  made. 


ARROW-WOOD 

Viburnum  pauciflorutn.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Leaves :  broadly  oval,  obovate,  with  three  rather  shallow  lobes  above 
the  middle,  coarsely  and  unequally  dentate,  glabrous  above,  more  or 
less  pubescent  beneath.  Flowers :  white,  in  compound  cymes,  all  perfect 
and  small ;  corolla  campanulate,  five-lobed.  Fruit :  drupes  globose,  bright 
red,  acid. 

A  straggling  shrub  growing  from  two  to  six  feet  high  and 
bearing  many  small  clusters  of  tiny  white  and  pinkish  flowers, 
whose  bell-shaped  corollas  are  divided  into  five  lobes  above 
the  middle  and  are  pointed  and  coarsely  toothed. 

SNOW-BERRY 

Symphoricarpus  racemosus  var.  pauciflorus.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Leaves:  opposite,  broadly  oval,  entire,  softly  pubescent.  Flowers: 
solitary  in  the  upper  axils,  and  two  or  three  in  the  terminal  spike; 
corolla  campanulate,  five-lobed,  bearded  within ;  stamens  and  style 
included.  Fruit:  a  white  berry. 

When  in  flower  this  low  spreading  shrub  bears  its  small 
white  or  pinkish  bells  in  tiny  clusters  at  the  ends  of  the 
numerous  upright  branches,  and  also  singly  in  the  upper  axils 
of  the  leaves.  When  in  fruit  the  pretty,  white,  waxen  berries 


PLATE  XCIII 


RED-STEMMED  DOGWOOD 
(Cornus  stoloniferd) 


345 


Of  THE 

f   UNIVERSITY  ) 

Of 


PLATE  XCIV 


RED-BERRIED  ELDER 

(Sambucus  racemosa) 

347 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  349 

render  the  Symphoricarpus  both  conspicuous  and  attractive. 
These  berries  are  oval  in  the  early  stages  of  development, 
when  with  their  snowy  weight  they  bend  down  the  flexible 
branches,  and  become  rounded  at  maturity.  They  contain  two 
brown  bony  seeds,  embedded  in  the  granular  cellular  pulp. 
The  dark  green  leaves  are  broadly  oval  in  shape  and  have 
smooth  margins. 

The  Snow-berry  is  frequently  cultivated  in  gardens  as  an 
ornamental  shrub. 

INVOLUCRED  FLY-HONEYSUCKLE 

Lonicera  involuerata.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Leaves:  ovate  or  oval,  acute  or  acuminate  at  the  apex,  narrowed  at 
the  base ;  peduncles  axillary ;  bracts  foliaceous,  ovate  ;  bractlets  also 
large,  at  length  surrounding  the  fruit.  Flowers  :  in  pairs,  yellow  ;  corolla 
pubescent,  funnel-form,  the  limb  five-lobed,  the  lobes  short,  little  spread- 
ing ;  stamens  and  style  slightly  exserted.  Fruit :  berries  nearly  black. 

This  is  one  of  the  small-flowered  Honeysuckles  which  grow 
in  the  form  of  a  bushy  shrub.  It  bears  yellow  funnel-form 
twin  blossoms,  terminating  the  long  slender  peduncles  which 
spring  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  These  blossoms  are  conspic- 
uously involucred  (hence  the  common  name)  by  large  broad 
leaf -like  bracts,  which  are  green  in  the  flowering  season  and 
turn  a  warm  reddish  colour  in  autumn,  when  surrounding 
the  fruit.  The  five  stamens  protrude  slightly  beyond  the 
corolla,  but  the  style  is  much  exserted,  and  is  tipped  by  a 
large  anther. 

The  Fly-Honeysuckle  is  a  straggling  shrub,  growing  from 
two  to  six  feet  high;  the  leaves  are  long-shaped  and  have 
hairy  margins,  and  when  in  fruit  the  reddish-black  berries  are 
joined  together  in  pairs.  It  is  not  a  plant  that  is  likely  to 
attract  the  traveller's  interest,  for  it  is  noticeable  only  by  rea- 
son of  its  rich  luxuriant  foliage,  since  the  flowers  are  small 
and  the  berries  quite  dark  in  hue. 


350  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

BUSH  FLY-HONEYSUCKLE 

Lonicera  Utahensis.    Honeysuckle  Family 

Leaves :  oblong,  subcordate  at  the  base,  obtuse,  glabrous ;  peduncles 
axillary  ;  bracts  short.  Flowers  :  corolla  campanulate,  obtusely  saccate  at 
the  base,  bilabiate,  the  lobes  short;  style  included.  Fruit:  red  berries, 
nearly  distinct,  globular. 

This  Fly-Honeysuckle  grows  from  three  to  five  feet  high, 
and  is  branching  and  very  bushy.  The  leaves  are  oblong  and 
bright  green  and  have  wavy  smooth  margins.  The  pale  yel- 
low flowers,  whose  corollas  are  cleft  into  two  lips,  grow  in 
pairs  on  long  slender  peduncles  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves, 
and  are  subtended  by  small  bracts,  in  which  latter  respect 
they  differ  materially  from  the  Involucred  Fly-Honeysuckle, 
which  has  very  large  broad  bracts.  The  fruit  consists  of  egg- 
shaped  berries,  which  are  more  or  less  joined  together  and  are 
of  a  lovely  translucent  scarlet  colour,  — 

"  Like  a  double  cherry,  seeming  parted." 

* 

BLUEBERRY 

Vaccinium  ovalifolmm.    Huckleberry  Family 

Leaves :  alternate,  oval,  short-petioled,  glabrous  on  both  sides,  rounded 
at  both  ends  or  somewhat  narrowed  at  the  base,  thin,  entire.  Flowers: 
white  and  pink,  commonly  solitary  in  the  axils  on  rather  short  recurved 
pedicels ;  calyx-limb  slightly  toothed ;  corolla  globose-ovoid,  toothed ; 
stamens  ten.  Fruit:  a  many-seeded  blue  berry  with  a  bloom,  acid. 

There  are  in  the  mountain  regions  many  species  of  Vac- 
cinium that  bear  edible  berries,  -but  the  Blueberry  and  the 
Black  Vaccinium  (a-  description  of  which  is  given  below)  are 
the  most  conspicuous  in  fruit,  the  former  having  blue  berries 
covered  with  a  rich  soft  bloom  and  possessing  an  acid  though 
not  unpalatable  flavour,  and  the  latter  having  purplish-black 
berries  that  are  quite  sweet  and  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

The  Blueberry  is  a  branching  shrub,  growing  from  three  to 
ten  feet  high,  and  has  smooth  twigs  that  are  sharply  angled 


PLATE  XCV 


ARROW-WOOD 
( Viburnum  paiicifloriini) 


PLATE  XCVI 


WOOLLY  LABRADOR  TEA 

(Ledttm  latifolium) 

353 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  355 

at  the  joints.  The  leaves  are  oval,  green  above  and  covered 
with  a  whitish  bloom  beneath.  The  small  pink  and  white 
flowers  are  formed  like  tiny  toothed  bells,  and  grow  singly  at 
the  ends  of  the  slender  recurved  stalks,  which  causes  them  to 
droop  downwards.  The  berries  also  are  pendent. 

V.  membranaceum,  or  Black  Vaccinium,  is  not  so  tall  as  the 
preceding  species,  seldom  attaining  a  height  of  six  feet.  The 
leaves  are  larger  than  those  of  the  Blueberry,  and  are  green 
on  both  sides  and  finely  edged  with  very  tiny  teeth.  The 
flowers  are  globular,  and  from  their  rounded  corollas  the  long 
style  protrudes.  The  recurved  axillary  stalks,  which  bear  the 
blossoms,  become  upright  in  fruit  and  thus  hold  erect  the 
large,  sweet,  purple-black  berries,  which  have  no  bloom. 


WOOLLY  LABRADOR  TEA 

Ledum  latifolium.    Heath  Family 

Stems :  erect  or  ascending,  the  bractlets  rusty-tomentose.  Leaves : 
oblong,  obtuse,  green  and  slightly  rugose  above,  densely  tomentose 
beneath,  the  wool  soon  ferruginous,  and  the  margins  strongly  revolute. 
Flowers :  umbellate  or  corymbose,  numerous,  terminal  ;  petals  five, 
spreading  ;  pedicels  brown-canescent,  recurved  in  fruit. 

This  lovely  flowering  shrub  thrives  chiefly  on  low-lying  flats 
and  in  wet  marshy  places,  where  its  large  terminal  clusters  of 
snow-white  blossoms  grow  abundantly  from  sticky  scaly  buds 
on  the  low  bushes.  The  foliage  of  the  Woolly  Labrador  Tea  is 
strictly  characteristic,  for  the  leaves  are  long-shaped,  with  revo- 
lute margins,  green  and  slightly  wrinkled  on  the  top  and 
densely  woolly  underneath,  the  wool  in  the  developed  foliage 
being  the  colour  of  iron  rust.  This  thick  wcolly  growth  is 
probably  designed  for  the  express  purpose  of  protecting  the 
pores  of  the  leaves  from  becoming  clogged  by  the  moist 
vapours  that  must  necessarily  rise  round  about  them,  owing 
to  the  extremely  wet  ground  in  which  the  shrubs  flourish. 


356  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

Plants  that  grow  in  very  damp  localities  are  specially  depend- 
ent upon  the  free  perspiration  of  their  leaves  to  throw  off  the 
vast  quantities  of  moisture  they  absorb  through  their  roots 
and  stems ;  consequently  such  marsh  shrubs  as  the  Labra- 
dor Teas  are  forced  to  adopt  a  regular  system  in  order  to 
prevent  the  pores  of  their  leaves  from  becoming  so  congested 
with  moisture  from  outside  that  they  cannot  perform  their 
legitimate  function  of  throwing  off  the  moisture  from  within. 
The  small  branches  are  also  covered  with  red,  rusty,  wool-like 
hairs. 

The  flower-clusters  are  very  beautiful,  each  individual  blos- 
som consisting  of  five  pure  white  petals,  with  a  large  green 
ovary  set  in  the  centre  ;  the  style  and  numerous  long  stamens 
are  very  conspicuous.  Both  the  flowers  and  leaves  have  a 
strong  aromatic  fragrance. 

L.  glandulosum,  or  Smooth-leaved  Labrador  Tea,  has  also 
long-shaped,  thick,  leathery  leaves  of  a  brownish-green  hue, 
but  they  are  not  woolly  underneath,  being  quite  smooth  on 
both  sides,  though  slightly  white  and  resinous  below.  The 
flower-clusters  closely  resemble  those  of  L.  latifolium. 

The  name  Labrador  Tea  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  many 
old  settlers,  and  also  campers  and  lumbermen  in  the  back- 
woods, formerly  used  in  place  of  tea  a  decoction  brewed 
from  the  aromatic  leaves  of  this  shrub. 


WHITE  MOUNTAIN  RHODODENDRON 

Rhododendron  albiflorum.    Heath  Family 

Leaves:  membranaceous,  oblong,  obscurely  undulate.  Flowers:  from 
separate  one-to-three  flowered,  lateral,  scaly,  cone-like  buds  below  the 
leaves  ;  calyx  five-parted,  the  divisions  more  or  less  foliaceous  ;  corolla 
five-lobed  ;  filaments  bearded  at  the  base,  open-campanulate ;  stamens 
ten ;  style  peltate,  five-lobed. 


PLATE  XCVII 


WHITE  MOUNTAIN  RHODODENDRON 

{Rhododendron  albifloruni} 


357 


^^SLAJSL 

THE 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  359 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  flowering  shrubs  found 
growing  on  the  highest  mountains. 

"  Oh,  the  windings  up  and  down 
That  the  dizzy  pathway  took  ! 
Now  along  the  craggy  bed 
Of  a  sun-dried  mountain  brook  ; 
Now  along  a  ledge  that  led 
By  a  chasm's  crumbling  brink, 
Dropping  deep  and  sheer  away 
Through  the  golden  Syrian  day 
To  the  dreamy  blur  of  pink 
That  the  oleanders  made,  — 
Here  in  sun,  and  there  in  shade. 
Up,  and  up,  and  up  we  went, 
While,  a  spacious  azure  tent, 
Arabesqued  with  morn,  the  sky 
Hung  above  us  radiantly." 

Had  the  poet  who  penned  these  lovely  lines  referred  to 

. . .  the  creamy  blur  of  white 
That  the  rhododendrons  made, 

his  verses  would  as  fitly  have  described  the  finding  of  the 
exquisite  waxen  bells  of  the  Mountain  Rhododendron  as  that  of 

"  The  dreamy  blur  of  pink 
That  the  oleanders  made," 

for  it  is  on  the  most  inaccessible  ledges,  and  close  to  the  great 
slopes  of  eternal  snow,  that  the  oblong  glossy  green  leaves  of 
this  alpine  shrub  gleam  brightly  in  the  sunshine  of  the  July 
days,  and  the  slim,  stiff,  brown  stems  bear  aloft  clustering 
circles  of  pure  white  flowers,  holding  within  their  chalice-cups 
the  ten  pale  yellow  stamens  and  the  style.  The  edges  of  the 
foliage  are  slightly  wavy,  the  calyx  is  five-parted,  each  division 
resembling  a  small  leaf,  and  the  corolla  is  bell-shaped  and  cut 
into  five  rounded  lobes.  The  buds  are  scaly  and  cone-like. 


360  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

SMOOTH  MENZIESIA 

Menziesia  g  label  la.    Heath  Family 

Leaves:  alternate,  obovate,  obtuse  and  glandular-mucronate  at  the 
apex,  pale  glaucous  and  glabrous  beneath,  sparingly  pubescent  above, 
the  margins  entire,  crenulate,  ciliolate.  Flowers :  one  to  five  in  umbels, 
cream  and  pink,  spreading,  becoming  erect ;  calyx  five-lobed ;  corolla 
urn-shaped,  four-toothed;  stamens  eight,  included.  Fruit:  seeds  long- 
appendaged  at  each  end. 

If  you  wish  to  be  quite  certain  that  the  shrub  before  you  is 
really  Menziesia  glabella,  just  break  off  a  branch  and  smell 
it,  and  you  will  at  once  perceive  the  peculiar  pungent  odour  of 
the  skunk  emanating  from  its  stems  and  foliage.  The  bush 
grows  erect  to  the  height  of  six  feet  and  bears  abundant  foliage. 
The  leaves  are  small,  oval,  and  pale  green,  and  have  even 
wavy  hairy  margins.  The  flowers  are  little  roundish  pink 
and  creamy  urn-shaped  bells,  which  terminate  the  long  slender 
stalks,  and  are  four-lobed,  having  eight  stamens  within  their 
cups.  They  grow  in  umbels  at  the  ends  of  the  twigs,  and  also 
encircle  the  stems  just  below  the  topmost  clusters  of  leaves. 
When  in  fruit  the  seeds  are  characterized  by  long  appendages 
at  each  end. 

SILVER-BERRY 

Elceagnus  argentea.    Oleaster  Family 

Stoloniferous,  silvery-scaly,  much  branched.  Leaves :  alternate,  oblong, 
ovate,  densely  silvery-scurfy  on  both  sides,  acute  or  obtuse.  Flowers : 
one  to  three  in  the  axils,  pedicelled,  fragrant ;  perianth  silvery  without, 
yellow  within,  tubular  below,  the  upper  part  campanulate,  four-lobed, 
the  lobes  ovate.  Fruit :  oval,  silvery. 

A  most  extraordinary  and  attractive  shrub,  growing  from 
two  to  twelve  feet  high  and  entirely  covered  with  a  lovely 
silver  coating.  The  leaves  are  small  and  very  crinkled  and 
wavy,  and  the  flowers  quite  tiny,  their  bell-shaped  four-lobed 
corollas  being  silvery  on  the  outside  and  pale  yellow  within. 
The  stems,  branches,  leaves,  and  fruit  are  completely  silvered 
over  and  thus  may  be  readily  distinguished. 


PLATE  XCVIII 


SMOOTH  MENZIESIA 
(Menziesia  glabella) 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS  363 

CANADA  BUFFALO-BERRY 

Shepherdia  Canadensis.    Oleaster  Family 

Leaves  :  ovate  or  oval,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  rounded  or  narrowed  at 
the  base,  green  and  sparingly  stellate-scurfy  above,  densely  silvery  stellate- 
scurfy  beneath,  some  of  the  scurf  brown.  Flowers  :  in  short  spikes  at  the 
nodes  of  the  twigs,  yellowish,  buds  globose  ;  perianth  four-lobed.  Fruit: 
oval,  drupe-like,  red  or  yellow. 

This  shrub  somewhat  resembles  Elaagnns  argentea,  but 
is  not  nearly  so  silvery  in  appearance,  the  stems  being  covered 
with  a  brown  scurf  and  the  leaves  being  green  and  slightly 
brown-scurfy  on  the  top  and  silver-coated  only  underneath. 
The  yellow  flowers  are  small  and  grow  in  short  spikes  at  the 
joints  of  the  twigs  ;  the  fruit  consists  of  a  bright  scarlet  or 
yellow  berry,  the  flesh  of  which  is  edible,  though  very  insipid, 
and  contains  a  tiny  smooth  nut. 

The  Canada  Buffalo-berry  grows  from  four  to  eight  feet 
high,  usually  near  water,  and  when  in  fruit  is  extremely 
ornamental. 

ROUGH-FRUITED  DISPORUM 

Disporum  trachycarpuin.    Lily  Family 

Leaves :  alternate,  ovate  or  oval,  acute  at  the  apex,  rounded  at  the 
base,  five-to-eleven  nerved,  sessile.  Flowers  :  terminal,  one  to  three  on 
long  pedicels,  greenish-white  or  greenish-yellow  ;  perianth  narrowly  cam- 
panulate,  its  six  segments  narrowly  oblong,  acute,  little,  spreading ;  sta- 
mens six,  hypogynous ;  style  slender,  three-lobed.  Fruit:  berry  rough- 
ened, depressed-globose. 

As  its  name  implies,  the  Rough-fruited  Disporum  has  a 
-berry  with  a  rough  coat ;  it  is  apparently  leathery  rather  than 
pulpy,  and  contains  from  four  to  eighteen  seeds.  This  plant 
is  not  a  real  shrub,  but  is  a  shrub-like  herb  with  slender 
rootstocks,  and  branching  stems  that  are  scaly  below  and 
leafy  above.  It  usually  grows  in  the  dense  woods  and  attains 
an  average  height  of  two  feet.  The  leaves,  which  somewhat 


364  FLOWERING  SHRUBS 

resemble  those  of  Streptopus  amplexifolius,  are  oval  and 
strongly  nerved,  very  pointed  at  the  apex  and  rounded  at 
the  base.  The  flowers  usually  grow  in  twos  or  threes  at  the 
ends  of  the  slender  wand-like  branches,  where  they  hang 
pendent  on  their  thready  stalks.  They  are  creamy  or  green- 
ish-yellow in  hue,  and  have  a  floral  cup  that  is  cut  into  six 
equal  narrow  segments  and  holds  six  long  stamens,  tipped  by 
large  oblong  anthers,  and  a  three-lobed  style. 


MOUNTAIN  WILD   FLOWERS 
OF  AMERICA 

SECTION  VI 
MISCELLANEOUS 


SECTION  VI 
MISCELLANEOUS 

SPIKED  WATER  MILFOIL 

Myriophyllum  spicatum.    Water  Milfoil  Family 

Submerged  leaves  :  in  whorls  of  fours  and  fives,  dissected  into  capillary 
divisions.  Floral  leaves  :  ovate,  entire  or  serrate,  usually  shorter  than  the 
flowers,  or  sometimes  none.  Flowers :  white,  in  spikes  ;  petals  four ; 
stamens  eight.  Fruit:  splitting  at  maturity  into  four  bony,  one-seeded, 
indehiscent  carpels,  which  are  rounded  on  the  back,  with  a  deep  wide 
groove  between  them,  smooth,  or  very  rarely  slightly  rugose. 

This  is  an  aquatic  herb,  with  submerged,  spreading, 
thready  leaves  set  in  whorls  of  four  or  five  round  the  thick 
stems.  Sometimes  it  has  floral  leaves  that  are  very  small 
and  usually  shorter  than  the  blossoms.  The  name  Myriophyl- 
lum is  from  the  Greek  and  means  "  myriad -leaved."  The 
flowers  are  minute  and  white-petalled  and  grow  in  tiny  in- 
terrupted spikes. 

MARE'S   TAIL 

Hippuris  vulgaris.    Water  Milfoil  Family 

Stems  :  slender,  glabrous.  Leaves  :  linear  or  lanceolate,  acute,  sessile, 
in  crowded  verticels  of  six  to  twelve,  more  or  less  sphacelate  at  the  apex. 
Flowers :  small,  axillary  ;  calyx-limb  minute,  entire  ;  petals  none  ;  stamen 
one,  with  a  short  thick  filament  and  comparatively  large  two-celled 
anther  dehiscent  by  lateral  slits.  Fruit:  a  small,  one-celled,  one-seeded 
drupe. 

This  is  also  an  aquatic  herb,  with  slender  erect  stems, 
bearing  circles  of  from  six  to  twelve  narrow  leaves  in  the 

367 


368  MISCELLANEOUS 

axils  and  curious  tiny  flowers  that  have  no  petals  and  only 
one  stamen  inserted  on  the  margin  of  the  calyx.  The  plant 
grows  from  eight  to  twenty  inches  high. 

STRAWBERRY  ELITE 

Chenopodium  capitatum.    Goosefoot  Family 

Stems:  ascending,  erect,  or  prostrate,  commonly  much  branched. 
Leaves:  sinuate-dentate,  cordate  or  reniform,  the  apex  and  basal  lobes 
acute.  Flowers :  sessile  in  the  axils  and  on  the  sides  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  stem,  small,  greenish,  becoming  bright  red  in  fruit.  Fruit:  some- 
what resembling  a  strawberry. 

Strawberry  Elite,  or  Indian  Strawberry,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  is  a  very  appropriate  name  for  this  plant,  which  flour- 
ishes best  in  newly  up-turned  or  half-cultivated  soil,  where  its 
pale  green  foliage  and  bright  red  fruit  render  it  conspicuous. 
The  leaves  are  halbert-shaped,  thin,  and  pointed  both  at  the 
apex  and  at  the  ends  of  the  basal  lobes,  the  margins  being 
more  or  less  indented.  The  flowers  are  small  and  greenish, 
but  the  developed  fruit  is  extremely  attractive  in  appearance, 
consisting  of  a  brilliant  red  pulpy  berry,  which  has  numerous 
seeds  embedded  in  its  wrinkled  surface,  similar  to  those  which 
cover  the  exterior  of  the  Garden  Strawberry. 


WATER  PERSICARIA 

Polygonum  amphibium.    Buckwheat  Family 

Aquatic,  perennial,  glabrous  when  mature.  Stems :  floating  or  sub- 
merged, simple  or  sparingly  branched.  Leaves  :  oblong,  elliptic,  petioled, 
obtuse,  sometimes  ciliate  ;  ocreae  cylindric,  those  of  the  branches  often 
longer  than  the  internodes,  their  limbs  sometimes  spreading.  Flowers : 
small,  in  a  terminal  raceme,  dense,  erect ;  calyx  rose  colour,  five-parted  ; 
stamens  five,  exserted  ;  style  two-cleft,  exserted.  Fruit :  achenes  orbicular- 
oblong,  lenticular,  biconvex,  black,  smooth,  shining. 

The  dense  rose-coloured  spikes  of  the  Water  Persicaria 
may  frequently  be  seen  rising  above  the  surface  of  some 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  369 

forest  pool,  or  fringing  its  borders.    As  Emerson  has  so  aptly 

described  it, 

•"  Rosy  polygonum,  lake-margin's  pride," 

is  one  of  the  prettiest  aquatic  plants  amongst  the  mountains. 
The  stems  often  grow  twenty  feet  in  length;  sometimes  they 
float,  and  sometimes  they  are  immersed  beneath  the  waters. 
The  leaves  are  oblong-elliptic  and  smooth,  and  from  two  to 
four  inches  long. 

WESTERN  DOCK 

Rumex  occidentalis.    Buckwheat  Family 

Stems  :  stout,  strict,  erect,  leafy,  strongly  grooved,  simple  or  sparingly 
branched.  Leaves :  lanceolate,  papillose,  obtuse  at  the  apex,  cordate 
at  the  base,  long-petioled.  Flowers :  green  panicle  rather  dense,  erect, 
flowers  loosely  whorled  ;  calyx  six-parted,  pale  green  ;  wings  triangulate- 
ovate,  undulate. 

A  large  coarse  plant  growing  several  feet  high,  with  a 
strongly  grooved  stem,  huge,  long-shaped,  bluish-green  leaves 
that  are  crisped  and  wavy-margined,  and  panicles  of  green 
flowers  set  in  loose  whorls  near  the  apex  of  the  stalks.  These 
flowers  have  no  petals,  but  only  a  green  six-parted  calyx,  the 
three  outer  divisions  of  which  remain  unchanged  in  fruit, 
while  the  three  inner  sepals  develop  into  wings. 

R.  acetosa,  or  Sorrel,  is  a  much  smaller  plant  and  has 
arrowhead-shaped  leaves. 

BLACK   CROW-BERRY 

Empetrum  nigrum.    Crow-berry  Family 

Much  branched,  the  branches  spreading,  densely  leafy.  Leaves: 
linear-oblong,  crowded,  thick,  obtuse,  the  strongly  revolute  margins 
roughish.  Flowers:  very  small,  purplish,  solitary  in  the  upper  axils; 
sepals  and  petals  mostly  three.  Fruit :  a  black  drupe,  containing  six  to 
nine  nutlets. 

This  black-berried  herbaceous  shrub  resembles  a  Heath, 
and  grows  in  large  dense  mats  on  the  mountain  sides  at  high 


370  MISCELLANEOUS 

altitudes.  The  numerous  short  branches  are  thickly  covered 
with  tiny  narrow  leaves  ;  the  purplish  flowers  are  inconspicu- 
ous, and  the  berries,  which  are  large,  round,  and  of  a  dul 
black  colour,  are  a  favourite  fruit  with  the  alpine  birds. 


JUNIPER 

Juniperus  nana.    Pine  Family 

A  depressed  rigid  shrub.  Leaves:  all  subulate,  rigid,  spreading, 
channelled  and  whitened  on  the  upper  surface,  densely  clothing  the 
twigs,  verticillate  in  threes.  Flowers:  in  aments,  axillary.  Fruit:  cones 
globose,  berry-like,  blue. 

A  very  depressed,  almost  prostrate  species  of  Juniper, 
which  forms  on  the  ground  large  circular  patches  that  some- 
times extend  to  ten  feet  in  diameter.  It  grows  at  extremely 
high  altitudes,  and  is  one  of  the  last  signs  of  vegetation  en- 
countered near  the  tree-line.  The  leaves,  which  densely  cover 
the  branches,  are  channelled,  and  sometimes  whitened  on  the 
surface  ;  they  are  set  in  verticels  of  three  on  the  twigs.  The 
cones  are  berry -like,  being  rounded,  smooth,  and  dark  blue. 

LYALL'S   LARCH 

Larix  Lyallii.    Pine  Family 

A  small  tree ;  branches  horizontal  and  ascending,  the  branchlets  and 
bud-scales  densely  pubescent  with  whitish  hairs.  Leaves  :  narrowly  linear, 
without  sheaths,  in  fascicles  on  short,  lateral,  scaly,  bud-like  branch- 
lets,  deciduous.  Flowers:  in  aments,  short,  lateral,  monoecious,  staminate 
from  leafless  buds,  the  fertile  buds  commonly  leafy  at  the  base,  red. 
Fruit :  cones  oblong,  pro'mptly  deciduous. 

Lyall's  Larch  is  a  very  lovely  tree.  It  is  not  an  evergreen. 
In  September,  if  you  look  up  to  where  the  conifers  greet  the 
edge  of  the  great  white  neves,  you  will  see  a  zone  of  glorious 
flaming  yellow  foliage  adorning  the  crags  and  cliffs,  and 
separating  the  rich  green  Hemlock,  Spruce,  Pine,  and  Fir 
from  the  purity  of  the  perpetual  snows.  This  yellow  sheen 


PLATE  XCIX 


COTTON  GRASS 

{Eriophorum  capitatunt) 

371 


MOUNTAIN   FLOWERS 


373 


is  the  autumn  dress  of  the  Lyall's  Larches ;  for  when  the  brief 
alpine  summer  is  past  the  leaves  of  these  beautiful  trees, 
which  grow  in  clusters  out  of  woody  cups,  and  in  July  are  a 
tender  pale  green,  turn  golden-hued  before  they  fall. 

The  cones  are  small  and  dainty  and  soon  drop  off.  It  is 
very  pleasant  to  pause  awhile  amongst  a  grove  of  these 
exquisite  feathery  apple-green  Larches,  and  recall  the  words 
of  one  who  said  : 

"  Behind  me  lay  the  forests  hushed  with  sleep  ; 
Above  me  in  its  granite  majesty, 

Sphinx-like,  the  peak  thro'  silent  centuries 
Met  the  eternal  question  of  the  sky. 

Victor  at  last  —  throned  on  the  cragged  height  — 
I  scan  the  green  steeps  of  the  mountain  side 
Where  late  I  toiled.    The  forest  lands  stretch  wide, 

And  in  deep  valleys  farms  gleam  far  and  white, 

Vistas  of  distance  break  upon  my  sight. 

The  peopled  plain  creeps  to  the  sky's  blue  rim, 
Where  new  peaks  gather  substanceless  and  dim, 

As  half-remembered  dreams  at  noontime  light. 

"  Between  two  silences  my  soul  floats  still 

As  any  white  cloud  in  this  sunny  air. 

No  sound  of  living  breaks  upon  my  ear, 
No  strain  of  thought  —  no  restless  human  will  — 

Only  the  virgin  quiet,  everywhere  — 

Earth  never  seemed  so  far,  or  Heaven  so  near. 
In  the  awed  silence  of  this  dim  high  place 

One  keeping  vigil  might  not  fear,  indeed, 

If  it  befell  him  as  that  man  of  old, 
Who  in  the  mountain  met  God  face  to  face." 

COTTON-GRASS 

Eriophorum  capitatum.    Sedge  Family 

Perennial  by  rootstocks.  Stems :  culm  obtusely  triangular,  stiff, 
smooth,  slender.  Leaves  :  filiform,  channelled  ;  spikelet  terminal,  solitary, 
erect  ;  involucre  none ;  scales  spirally  imbricated,  ovate-lanceolate, 
long-acuminate,  purplish-brown,  membranous  ;  bristles  numerous,  white 
or  slightly  yellowish,  weak. 


374  MISCELLANEOUS 

Close  beside  the  margins  of  the  alpine  lakes  .and  streams 
may  this  soft  fluffy-headed  sedge  be  found.  It  has  a  tall 
culm,  two  or  three  slender  channelled  leaves,  and  a  single 
terminal  white  or  cream-coloured  head  composed  of  fine  silky 
bristles. 

SQUIRREL-TAIL  GRASS 
Hordeum  jubatum .    Grass  Family 

Stems:  culm  erect,  smooth,  glabrous  ;  sheaths  shorter  than  the  inter- 
nodes.  Leaves  :  flat,  erect,  rough  ;  spike  terminal,  cylindrical ;  spikelcts 
usually  in  threes,  the  central  one  containing  a  palet  and  perfect  flower, 
the  lateral  ones  imperfect. 

The  spikes  of  the  Squirrel-tail  Grass,  with  their  warm,  rich, 
reddish  hue,  when  seen  in  large  quantities,  present  a  beauti- 
ful appearance  as  they  swing  and  sway  in  the  wind. 

"In  the  summer  of  the  summer,  when  the  hazy  air  is  sweet 
With  the  breath  of  crimson  clover,  and  the  day  's  a-shine  with  heat, 
When  the  sky  is  blue  and  burning  and  the  clouds  a  downy  mass, 
When  the  breeze  is  idly  dawdling,  there  is  music  in  the  grass  — 

"Just  a  t'listly,  whistly  sound 

In  the  tanglos  near  the  ground  ; 
And  the  flitting  fairies  often  stop  to  listen  as  they  pass  ; 

Just  a  lisping,  whisp'ring  tune, 

Like  a  bumblebee's  bassoon, 
In  a  far-away  fantasia,  is  the  music  in  the  grass. 

"  Would  you  know  what  makes  the  music  ?  On  each  slender,  quivering  blade 
There  are  notes  and  chords  and  phrases  by  the  bees  and  crickets  played; 
And  the  grasshoppers  and  locusts  strive  each  other  to  surpass 
In  their  brave  interpretation  of  the  music  in  the  grass. 

"  By  the  roguish  breezes  tost 

You  might  think  it  would  get  lost, 
But  the  careful  fairies  guard  it,  watching  closely  as  they  pass. 

So  on  every  summer  day, 

Sounding  faint  and  far  away, 
Is  the  mystic,  murmuring  marvel  of  the  music  in  the  grass." 


MOUNTAIN  FLOWERS  375 

FIELD  HORSETAIL 

E  guise  turn  arvense.    Horsetail  Family 

Stems:  annual,  hollow,  jointed,  provided  with  scattered  stomata,  the 
fertile  appearing  in  early  spring  before  the  sterile.  Leaves  :  reduced  to 
sheaths  at  the  joints. 

This  is  a  rush-like  plant  of  a  very  rank  coarse  nature,  which 
grows  in  ditches  and  along  the  sandy  waysides.  The  fertile 
stems,  which  appear  in  the  early  spring,  grow  from  four  to  ten 
inches  high  and  are  light  brown  in  colour.  They  are  not 
branched,  but  terminate  in  a  solitary  cone-like  spike.  The 
sterile  stems,  which  appear  later  on  in  the  season,  are  green 
and  rather  slender,  averaging  eighteen  inches  in  height. 
They  have  numerous  verticillate  branches,  the  sheaths  of 
which  are  four-toothed. 

STIFF   CLUB-MOSS 

Ly  cop  odium  annotinum.    Club-moss  Family 

Stems:  much  branched,  slender,  prostrate  and  creeping,  rather  stiff, 
the  branches  ascending,  sparingly  forked.  Leaves  uniform,  spreading, 
five-ranked,  rigid,  linear-lanceolate,  minutely  serrulate,  nerved  below; 
spikes  solitary  at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  oblong-cylindric,  composed 
of  ovate  bracts,  each  with  a  sporange  in  its  axil ;  spores  smooth  on  the 
basal  surface. 

A  moss-like  herb,  with  numerous  tiny  leaves  completely 
covering  the  short  branches,  which  terminate  in  dense  oblong 
spikes  composed  of  small  bracts,  each  one  with  a  sac  con- 
taining spores  in  its  axil. 

L.  clavatum,  or  Creeping  Club-moss,  has  extensively  creep- 
ing stems  and  short,  irregular,  densely  leafy  branches.  The 
leaves  are  much  crowded,  incurved,  and  tipped  with  tiny 
bristles,  and  the  spikes  grow  in  clusters  of  from  one  to  four 
on  long  peduncles. 


THE 

R 

OF 


INDEX  TO  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES 


Achillea  lanulosa,  74 
Actasa  spicata  var.  arguta,  323 
Allium  recurvatum,  182 
Allium  Schoenoprasum,  255 
Amelanchier  alnifolia,  337 
Anaphalis  margaritacea,  74 
Androsace  Chamaejasme,  90 
Androsace  septentrionalis,  90 
Anemone  Drummondii,  9 
Anemone  multifida,  4 
Anemone  Nuttalliana,  186 
Anemone  occidentalis,  4 
Anemone  parviflora,  9 
Antennaria  Howellii,  73 
Antennaria  lanata,  73 
Antennaria  parvifolia,  73 
Antennaria  parvifolia  var.  rosea, 
Antennaria  racemosa,  73 
Aplopappus  Brandegei,  286 
Aquilegia  brevistyla,  191 
Aquilegia  flavescens,  262 
Aquilegia  formosa,  135 
Arabis  confinis,  15 
Arabis  Drummondii,  16 
Arabis  hirsuta,  16 
Arabis  Holboellii,  15 
Arctostaphylos  alpina,  159 
Arctostaphylos  Uva-ursi,  156 
Arenaria  biflora,  27 
Arenaria  nardifolia,  27 
Arnica  alpina,  298 
Arnica  Chamissonis,  298 
Arnica  cordifolia,  :  )j 
Arnica  Parryi,  298 
Artemisia  biennis,  79 
Artemisia  discolor,  79 
Artemisia  frigida,  79 
Aster  alpinus,  68 
Aster  commutatus,  68 
Aster  conspicuus,  213 


152 


Aster  Engelmannii,  219 
Aster  foliaceus,  214 
Aster  Fremonti,  214 
Astragalus  aboriginorum,  32 
Astragalus  adsurgens,  203 
Astragalus  alpinus,  204 
Astragalus  convallarius,  204 
Astragalus  hypoglottis,  204 
Astragalus  Macounii,  204 

Berberis  repens,  323 
Brassica  Sinapistrum,  268 
Brunella  vulgaris,  248 
Bryanthus  empetriformis,  159 
Bryanthus  glanduliflorus,  85 
Bryanthus  intermedius,  160 

Caltha  palustris,  262 
Calypso  borealis,  177 
Campanula  rotundifolia,  223 
Capsella  Bursa-pastoris,  16 
Cassiope  Mertensiana,  80 
Castilleia  Bradburii,  173 
Castilleia  miniata,  i/o 
Castilleia  pallida,  170 
Castilleia  septentrionalis,  166 
Cerastium     alpinum     var.     Behring- 

ianum,  28 

Cerastium  arvense,  27 
Chenopodium  album,  99 
Chenopodium  capitatum,  368 
Chrysanthemum  Leucanthemum,  74 
Chrysopsis  villosa,  286 
Claytonia  sessilifolia,  28 
Clematis  Columbiana,  185 
Clintonia  uniflora,  120 
Cnicus  eriocephalus,  80 
Cnicus  undulatus,  220 
Collinsia  parviflora,  243 
Comandra  livida,  103 


377 


378 


INDEX  TO   SCIENTIFIC   NAMES 


Comandra  pallida,  103 
Corallorhiza  innata,  103 
Cornus  Canadensis,  62 
Cornus  stolonifera,  343 
Corydalis  aurea  var.  occidentalis,  266 
Crepis  elegans,  302 
Crepis  nana,  302 
Crepis  runcinata,  302 
Cypripedium  acaule,  178 
Cypripedium  parviflorum,  314 
Cypripedium  passerinum,  114 
Cypripedium  pubescens,  313 

Delphinium  Brownii,  191 
Delphinium  Columbianum,  192 
Dicentra  formosa,  139 
Disporum  trachycarpum,  363 
Dodecatheon  pauciflorum,  165 
Draba  alpina,  268 
Draba  aurea,  268 
Draba  incana,  16 
Dryas  Drummondii,  272 
Dryas  octopetala,  38 

Echinospermum  floribundum,  234 
Echinospermum  Lappula,  239 
Elasagnus  argentea,  360 
Empetrum  nigrum,  369 
Epilobium  anagallidifolium,  147 
Epilobium  angustifolium,  144 
Epilobium   angustifolium   var.   canes- 

cens,  147 

Epilobium  Hornemanni,  148 
Epilobium  latifolium,  147 
Epilobium  luteum,  282 
Equisetum  arvense,  375 
Erigeron  acris,  219 
Erigeron  compositus,  68 
Erigeron  glabellus,  152 
Erigeron  lanatus,  220 
Erigeron  Philadelphicus,  220 
Erigeron  salsuginosus,  220 
Erigeron  uniflorus,  220 
Eriogonum  androsaceum,  100 
Eriogonum  umbellatum,  100 
Eriophorum  capitatum,  373 
Erysimum  parviflorum,  267 
Erythronium  giganteum,  318 


Fatsia  horrida,  338 
Fragaria  glauca,  43 

Gaillardia  aristata,  294 
Galium  boreale,  62 
Galium  triflorum,  67 
Gentiana  acuta,  230 
Gentiana  affinis,  233 
Gentiana  arctophila,  230 
Gentiana  Forwoodii,  233 
Gentiana  Macounii,  229 
Gentiana  propinqua,  230 
Gentiana  prostrata,  230 
Geranium  Carolinianum,  139 
Geranium  Richardsoni,  31 
Geum  macrophyllum,  275 
Geum  strictum,  275 
Geum  triflorum,  143 
Goodyera  Menziesii,  107 
Goodyera  repens,  107 

Habenaria  bracteata,  108 
Habenaria  dilatata,  113 
Habenaria  hyperborea,  108 
Habenaria  leucostachys,  114 
Habenaria  obtusata,  108 
Hedysarum  boreale,  207 
Hedysarum  boreale  var.  albiflorum,  37 
Hedysarum  Mackenzii,  140 
Helianthus  giganteus,  293 
Heracleum  lanatum,  61 
Heuchera  ovalifolia,  56 
Hieracium  gracile,  305 
Hieracium  Scouleri,  302 
Hippuris  vulgaris,  367 
Hordeum  jubatum,  374 

Juniperus  nana,  370 
Kalmia  glauca,  160 

Larix  Lyallii,  370 
Lathyrus  ochroleucus,  32 
Ledum  glandulosum,  356 
Ledum  latifolium,  355 
Leptarrhena  pyrolifolia,  50 
Ligusticum  apiifolium,  61 
Lilium  Columbianum,  317 


INDEX  TO  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES 


37'9 


Lilium  Philadelphicum,  314 
Linn  sea  borealis,  148 
Linum  Lewisii,  198 
Listera  convallarioides,  104 
List  era  cordata,  104 
Lithospermum  angustifolium,  309 
Lobelia  Kalmii,  223 
Lonicera  gkucescens,  151 
Lonicera  involucrata,  349 
Lonicera  Utahensis,  350 
Lycopodium  annotinum,  375 
Lycopodium  clavatum,  375 

Melilotus  officinalis,  271 

Mentha  Canadensis,  248 

Menyanthes  trifoliata,  95 

Menziesia  glabella,  360 

Mertensia  paniculata,  239 

Mimulus  Lewisii,  165 

Mimulus  Langsdorfii,  310 

Mitella  Breweri,  55 

Moneses  uniflora,  89 

Myosotis  sylvatica  var.  alpestris,  240 

Myriophyllum  spicatum,  367 

Nasturtium  officinale,  1 5 
Nuphar  polysepalum,  265 

OEnothera  biennis,  282 
Orchis  rotundifolia,  178 
Orthocarpus  luteus,  310 
Oxycoccus  vulgaris,  156 
Oxytropis  Lamberti,  272 
Oxytropis  podocarpa,  204 
Oxytropis  splendens,  207 
Oxytropis  viscida,  207 

Papaver  nudicaule,  266 
Parnassia  fimbriata,  61 
Parnassia  Kotzebuei,  61 
Parnassia  montanensis,  56 
Pedicularis  bracteosa,  174 
Pedicularis  contorta,  96 
Pedicularis  Groenlandica,  173 
Pedicularis  racemosa,  96 
Penstemon  confertus,  309 
Penstemon    confertus    var.    casruleo- 

purpurens,  244 
Penstemon  Menziesii,  243 


Petasites  frigida,  80 
Petasites  palmata,  80 
Petasites  sagittata,  80 
Phaca  Americana,  32 
Phacelia  sericea,  233 
Physaria  didymocarpa,  268 
Pinguicula  vulgaris,  247 
Plantago  major,  99 
Plantago  Rugelii.  99 
Polygonum  amphibium,  368 
Polygon  um  viviparum,  100 
Potentilla  Anserina,  276 
Potentilla  arguta,  43,  279 
Potentilla  dissecta,  276 
Potentilla  fruticosa,  330 
Potentilla  gracilis,  279 
Potentilla  Hippiana,  279 
Potentilla  nivea,  279 
Potentilla  Novegica,  279 
Primula  farinosa,  164 
Primula  Mistassinica,  164 
Prunus  Virginiana,  324 
Pyrola  asarifolia,  163 
Pyrola  chlorantha,  85 
Pyrola  minor,  86 
Pyrola  secunda,  86 
Pyrus  sambucifolia,  336 

Ranunculus  acris,  259 

Ranunculus  aquatilis  var.  stagnatilis, 

261 

Ranunculus  Cymbalaria,  261 
Ranunculus  Eschscholtzii,  260 
Ranunculus  Macounii,  260 
Ranunculus  repens,  261 
Ranunculus  reptans,  261 
Rhinanthus  Crista-galli,  313 
Rhododendron  albiflorum,  356 
Ribes  rubrum,  338 
Ribes  setosum,  338 
Romanzoffia  sitchensis,  95 
Rosa  acicularis,  330 
Rosa  Macounii,  335 
Rubus  arcticus,  143 
Rubus  Nutkanus,  329 
Rubus  pedatus,  38 
Rumex  acetosa,  369 
Rumex  occidentalis,  369 


38o 


INDEX  TO   SCIENTIFIC   NAMES 


Satnbucus  melanocarpa,  344 
Sambucus  racemosa,  343 
Saxifiaga  aizoides,  280 
Saxifiaga  bronchialis,  43 
Saxifraga  cernua,  44 
Saxifraga  Lyallii,  44 
Saxifraga  nivalis,  50 
Saxifraga  Nutkana,  49 
Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  213 
Sedum  frigidum,  144 
Sedum  stenopetalum,  280 
Senecio  Balsamitae,  298 
Senecio  canus,  301 
Senecio  lugens,  301 
Senecio  triangularis,  301 
Shepherida  Canadensis,  363 
Silene  acaulis,  197 
Silene  Macounii,  22 
Silene  noctiflora,  22 
Sisymbrium  Hartwegianum,  267 
Sisyrinchium  angustifolium,  251 
Smilacina  amplexicaulis,  120 
Smilacina  Canadensis,  120 
Smilacina  stellata,  119 
Solidago  Canadensis,  289 
Solidago  decumbens,  290 
Solidago  Missouriensis,  290 
Solidago    multiradiata    var.    scopulo- 

rum,  290 

Solidago  nemoralis,  293 
Sonchus  arvensis,  306 
Spiraea  Aruncus,  329 
Spiraea  lucida,  37 
Spiraea  pectinata,  37 
Spiranthes  Romanzoffiana,  107 
Stachys  palustris,  251 
Stellaria  longipes,  27 
Stenanthium  occidentale,  126 
Streptopus  amplexifolius,  114 
Streptopus  brevipes,  181 
Streptopus  curvipes,  181 


Streptopus  roseus,  181 
Symphoricarpus  racemosus  var.  pau- 
ciflorus,  344 

Taraxacum  officinale  var.  lividum,  305 

Taraxacum  rupestre,  306 

Tellima  grandiflora,  50 

Thalictrum  occidentale,  10 

Thaspium  cordatum,  285 

Thlaspi  arvense,  21 

Tiarella  unifoliata,  55 

Tofieldia  glutinosa,  125 

Trientalis  Americana,  90 

Trifolium  hybridum,  31 

Trifolium  pratense,  140 

Trifolium  repens,  31 

Trollius  laxus,  10 

Troximon  aurantiacum,  305 

Troximon  glaucum,  305 

Vaccinium  caespitosum,  155 
Vaccinium  membranaceum,  355 
Vaccinium  Myrtillus,  155 
Vaccinium  ovalifolium,  350 
Vaccinium  Vitis-Idaea,  155 
Valeriana  sitchensis,  67 
Valeriana  sylvatica,  67 
Veratrum  viride,  126 
Veronica  alpina,  244 
Veronica  serpyllifolia,  247 
Viburnum  pauciflorum,  344 
Vicia  Americana,  208 
Vicia  Cracca,  208 
Viola  adunca,  197 
Viola  Canadensis,  21 
Viola  cognata,  192 
Viola  glabella,  271 

Zygadenus  elegans,  131 
Zygadenus  venenosus,  131 


INDEX   TO  ENGLISH   NAMES 


Adder's  Tongue,  Yellow,  318 
Alum-root,  56 
Androsace,  Alpine,  90 
Androsace,  Sweet,  90 
Anemone,  Alpine,  9 
Anemone,  Few-flowered,  9 
Anemone,  Western,  4 
Aplopappus,  286 
Arnica,  Alpine,  298 
Arnica,  Chamisso's,  298 
Arnica,  Heart-leaf,  297 
Arnica,  Parry's,  298 
Arrow-wood,  344 
Ash,  Western  Mountain,  336 
Asphodel,  125 
Aster,  Alpine,  68 
Aster,  Engelmann's,  219 
Aster,  Fremont's,  214 
Aster,  Hairy  Golden,  286 
Aster,  Large  Purple,  213 
Aster,  Leafy-bracted,  214 
Aster,  White,  68 
Avens,  Large-leaved,  275 
Avens,  Long-plumed,  143 
Avens,  YellowT,  275 

Baneberry,  Red,  323 
Bearberry,  Alpine,  159 
Bearberry,  Red,  156 
Beard-tongue,  Blue,  244 
Beard-tongue,  Large  Purple,  243 
Beard-tongue,  Yellow-,  309 
Bedstraw,  Northern,  62 
Bedstraw,  Sweet-scented,  67 
Betony,  Wood,  174 
Bilberry,  Alpine,  155 
Bilberry  Dwarf,  155 
Bistort,  Alpine,  100 
Bladder-pod,  268 
Bleeding-heart,  Wild,  139 


Blueberry,  350 
Brunella,  248 
Buckbean,  95 
Buffalo-berry,  Canada,  363 
Bunch -berry,  62 
Buttercup,  Macoun's,  260 
Buttercup,  Meadow,  259 
Buttercup,  Snow,  260 
Butterwort,  247 

Calypso,  177 
Campion,  Moss,  197 
Campion,  White,  22 
Catchfly,  Night-flowering,  22 
Cherry,  Choke,  324 
Chickweed,  Alpine,  28 
Chickweed,  Field,  27 
Cinquefoil,  Alpine,  279 
Cinquefoil,  Common,  276 
Cinquefoil,  Rough,  279 
Cinquefoil,  Shrubby,  330 
Cinquefoil,  Small,  279 
Cinquefoil,  Tall,  43,  279 
Cinquefoil,  Woolly,  279 
Clematis,  Wild,  185 
Clover,  Alsatian,  31 
Clover,  Red,  140 
Clover,  White,  31 
Club-moss,  Creeping,  375 
Club-moss,  Stiff,  375 
Collinsia,  Small-flowered,  243 
Coltsfoot,  Arctic,  80 
Coltsfoot,  Arrow-leaf,  80 
Coltsfoot,  Palm-leaf,  80 
Columbine,  Blue,  191 
Columbine,  Western,  135 
Columbine,  Yellow,  262 
Comandra,  Swamp,  103 
Comandra,  White,  103 
Coral-root,  103 


382 


INDEX   TO   ENGLISH   NAMES 


Corydalis,  Golden,  266 
Cotton-grass,  373 
Cow-Parsnip,  61 
Cranberry,  Mountain,  155 
Cranberry,  Small,  156 
Crane's-bill,  Carolina,  139 
Crow-berry,  Black,  369 
Crowfoot,  Creeping,  261 
Crowfoot,  Water,  261 
Crowfoot,  Yellow,  261 
Currant,  Red,  338 

Daisy,  Ox-eye,  74 
Dandelion,  Alpine,  306 
Dandelion,  Common,  305 
Dandelion,  Copper  False,  305 
Dandelion,    Large-flowered    False, 

305 

Devil's  Club,  338 
Disporum,  Rough-fruited,  363 
Dock,  Western,  369 
Dogwood,  Red-stemmed,  343 
Dryas,  Drummond's,  272 
Dryas,  White,  38 

Elder,  Black-berried,  344 
Elder,  Red-berried,  343 
Eriogonum,  Dwarf,  100 
Eriogonum,  Tall,  100 
Everlasting,  Alpine,  73 
Everlasting,  Mountain,  73 
Everlasting,  Mouse-ear,  73 
Everlasting,  Pearly,  74 
Everlasting,  Pink,  152 
Everlasting,  White,  73 

Flax,  Wild,  198 
Fleabane,  Alpine,  220 
Fleabane,  Arctic,  220 
Fleabane,  Blue,  219 
Fleabane,  Daisy,  68 
Fleabane,  Large  Purple,  220 
Fleabane,  Lavender,  220 
Fleabane,  Rough,  152 
Fly-Honeysuckle,  Bush,  350 
Fly-Honeysuckle,  Involucred,  349 
Forget-me-not,  False,  234 
Forget-me-not,  True,  240 


Gaillardia,  Great-flowered,  294 
Garlic,  Pink,  182 
Garlic,  Purple,  255 
Gentian,  Alpine,  230 
Gentian,  Blue,  233 
Gentian,  Dwarf,  230 
Gentian,  Four-parted,  230 
Gentian,  Large,  233 
Gentian,  Macoun's,  229 
Gentian,  Northern,  230 
Geranium,  White,  31 
Globe  Flower,  10 
Goat's  Beard,  329 
Golden-rod,  Canada,  289 
Golden-rod,  Field,  290 
Golden-rod,  Gray,  293 
Golden-rod,  Mountain,  290 
Golden-rod,  Northern,  290 
Gooseberry,  Bristly,  338 
Grape,  Rocky  Mountain,  323 
Grass,  Blue-eyed,  251 
Grass,  Squirrel-tail,  374 
Groundsel,  Black-tipped,  301 
Groundsel,  Silvery,  301 

Harebell,  223 
Hawksbeard,  Alpine,  302 
Hawksbeard,  Many-flowered,  302 
Hawksbeard,  Naked-stemmed,  302 
Hawkweed,  Hairy,  302 
Hawkweed,  Small,  305 
Heath,  White,  80 
Heather,  Pink  False,  160 
Heather,  Red  False,  159 
Heather,  White  False,  85 
Hedysarum,  Mackenzie's,  140 
Hedysarum,  Purple,  207 
Hedysarum,  White,  37 
Heliotrope,  White,  67 
Heliotrope,  Wild,  67 
Hellebore,  False,  126 
Honeysuckle,  Smooth-leaved,  151 
Horsetail,  Field,  375 

Juniper,  370 

Labrador  Tea,  Smooth-leaved,  356 
Labrador  Tea,  Woolly,  355 
Ladies'  Tresses,  107 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  NAMES 


383 


Lady's  Slipper,  Large  Yellow,  313 

Lady's  Slipper,  Mountain,  114 

Lady's  Slipper,  Pink,  178 

Lady's  Slipper,  Small  Yellow,  314 

Lamb's  Quarters,  99 

Larkspur,  Blue,  192 

Larkspur,  Mountain,  191 

Laurel,  Swamp,  160 

Leptarrhena,  50 

Lily,  Philadelphia,  314 

Lily,  Western,  317 

Lily,  Yellow  Pond,  265 

Lobelia,  Brook,  223 

Loco-weed,  272 

Lousewort,  Contorted,  96 

Lousewort,  White,  96 

Lungwort,  Tall,  239 

Lyall's  Larch,  370 

Mare's  Tail,  367 
Marsh-Marigold,  262 
Meadow-rue,  10 
Melilot,  Yellow,  271 
Menziesia,  Smooth,  360 
Milfoil,  Spiked  Water,  367 
Mint,  Wild  Canada,  248 
Mitre-wort,  False,  55 
Mitre-wort,  True,  55 
Monkey-flower,  Red,  165 
Monkey-flower,  Yellow,  310 
Mustard,  Hedge,  267 
Mustard,  Treacle,  267 
Mustard,  Wild,  268 

Nettle,  Hedge,  251 

Orchis,  Fly-spotted,  178 
Orchis,  Giant,  114 
Orchis,  Leafy,  108 
Orchis,  Long-bracted,  108 
Orchis,  Small,  108 
Orchis,  White  Bog,  113 
Orthocarpus,  Yellow,  310 
Oxytrope,  Alpine,  207 
Oxytrope,  Inflated,  204 
Oxytrope,  ShowTy,  207 

Paint-brush,  Red  Indian,  166 
Paint-brush,  White  Indian,  170 


Painted-cup,  Bradbury's,  173 
Painted-cup,  Bright,  170 
Parnassus,  Alpine  Grass  of,  61 
Parnassus,  Fringed  Grass  of,  61 
Parnassus,  Marsh  Grass  of,  56 
Parsley,  Wild,  61 
Parsnip,  Meadow,  285 
Pasque  Flower,  186 
Pedicularis,  Long-beaked,  173 
Penny-cress,  21 
Persicaria,  Water,  368 
Phacelia,  Mountain,  233 
Plantain,  Common,  99 
Plantain,  Pale,  99 
Plantain,  Rattlesnake,  107 
Plantain,  Small  Rattlesnake,  107 
Poppy,  Arctic,  266 
Primrose,  Bird's-eye,  164 
Primrose,  Dwarf  Canadian,  164 
Primrose,  Evening,  282 
Puccoon,  Narrow-leaved,  309 

Queen-cup,  120 

Ragwort,  Giant,  301 

Ragwort,  Golden,  298 

Raspberry,  Arctic,  143 

Raspberry,  Creeping,  38 

Rattle,  Yellow,  313 

Rhododendron,  White  Mountain,  356 

Rock-cress,  Alpine,  15 

Rock-cress,  Drummond's,  16 

Rock-cress,  Hairy,  16 

Rock-cress,  Stony,  15 

Romanzoffia,  95 

Rose,  Macoun's,  335 

Rose,  Prickly,  330 

Rose  wort,  144 

Salmon-berry,  329 
Sandwort,  Arctic,  27 
Sandwort,  Rock,  27 
Saxifrage,  Alpine,  50 
Saxifrage,  Common,  43 
Saxifrage,  Lyall's,  44 
Saxifrage,  Mountain,  213 
Saxifrage,  Nodding,  44 
Saxifrage,  Tall,  49 


INDEX  TO   ENGLISH   NAMES 


Saxifrage,  Yellow,  280 
Service-berry,  337 
Shepherd's  Purse,  16 
Shooting  Star,  165 
Silver-berry,  360 
Silver-weed,  276 
Snow-berry,  344 
Solomon's  Seal,  False,  120 
Sorrel,  369 

Spearwort,  Creeping,  261 
Speedwell,  Alpine,  244 
Speedwell,  Thyme-leaved,  247 
Spikenard,  1 19 
Spiraea,  Alpine,  37 
Spiraea,  Birch-leaved,  37 
Spring  Beauty,  28 
Star-flower,  90 
Stenanthium,  126 
Stichwort,  27 
Stickseed,  239 
Stonecrop,  280 
Strawberry  Elite,  368 
Strawberry,  Wild,  43 
Sunflower,  Giant,  293 

Tellima,  50 
Thistle,  Sow,  306 
Thistle,  Wavy-leaved,  220 
Thistle,  White,  80 
Twayblade,  Broad-lipped,  104 
Twayblade,  Heart-leafed,  104 
Twin-flower,  Northern,  148 
Twisted-stalk,  Curved,  181 
Twisted-stalk,  Pink,  181 
Twisted  stalk,  Short-stemmed,  181 
Twisted  stalk,  White,  114 

Vaccinium,  Black,  355 
Vetch,  Alpine,  204 


Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Vetch, 
Violet, 
Violet, 
Violet, 
Violet, 


American,  208 
Arctic,  32 
Ascending,  203 
Cow,  208 
Indian,  32 
Macoun's,  204 
Purple,  204 
Slender,  204 
White,  32 
Canada,  21 
Dog,  197 
Early  Blue,  192 
Yellow,  27  i 


Water-cress,  1 5 
Whitlow-grass,  Alpine,  268 
Whitlow-grass,  Golden,  268 
Whitlow-grass,  White,  16 
Willow-herb,  Alpine,  147 
Willow-herb,  Great,  144 
Willow-herb,  Hornemann's,  148 
Willow-herb,  Pink,  147 
Willow-herb,  Water,  147 
Willow-herb,  Yellow,  282 
Wind-flower,  4 

Wintergreen,  Green-flowered,  85 
Wintergreen,  One-flowered,  89 
Wintergreen,  One-sided,  86 
Wintergreen,  Red,  163 
Wintergreen,  Small,  86 
Wormwood,  Biennial,  79 
Wormwood,  Green,  79 
Wormwood,  Pasture,  79 

Yarrow,  74 

Zygadene,  Poisonous,  131 
Zygadene,  Tall,  131 


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